Canada/ New England on Celebrity Summit Review

[trbarton]

Canada/ New England on Celebrity Summit

 

The following is my review of Celebrity Summit.

 

This is my first cruise on Celebrity.

 

We sailed October 2 - 16 out of Bayonne NJ.

 

I have taken many cruises, more on Princess. I found everything on the Summit to be fine and the service was excellent. It was a great cruise although we missed one port due to one of the storms.

 

Here are some things that I observed. .

 

There was very few dancing venues unlike Princes where you usually find 4 different venues with live music plus a disco. We both like dancing so we always had to check to see what dancing options there were. Although the bands were excellent there were not enough choices. The Summit was not designed with dancing in mind.

 

2. All of the showroom shows were excellent & we enjoyed meeting some of the production staff.

 

3. Captain Kate was excellent & kept us updated with daily reports and weather reports as needed.

 

4. Food in the dinning rooms was excellent and the buffet always had plenty of options.

 

5. The ship was in excellent shape. Because of the design of the Celebrity theatre you only had 2 options to enter & leave the theatre.

 

6. I was surprised on the last night where they locked the refrigerator & everything was taken out and put on the desk.

 

7. Check in was excellent but we were surprised that you couldn't go to your stateroom until around 1:30 pm unlike Princess where your stateroom is available when you board, if nothing else to drop off your carry-on's.

 

8. The Connections party was scheduled for 1/2 hr although most of the primary officers were present. Not much time for meeting other people. I was in charge of a gift exchange so I had to rush things along as Celebrity ran everything so it was there event rather than an event planned by Cruise Critic members.

 

9. I received a 1 hr voucher for internet but it had to be used continuously for 60 minutes.

 

These are just my observations & as I said earlier these are my observations.

 

Would I use Celebrity again, possibly if the price was right & was an itinerary that interested us.

 

Tom😎

[cocobakerchica]

Thank you for sharing. I will be on this cruise in late Sept. 2017, and have been looking forward to reading some reviews/impressions of this year's itineraries(been on the Summit many times to Bermuda and the Caribbean, but not Canada/NE). What port did you miss due to the storms and how were the ones you visited?

[warmwinds]

I've always found the M-class ships to have both the Rendezvous Lounge and the one up the top for dancing...maybe not 4 but isn't 2 enough?

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

Keith

[WEGL81]

Thank you for sharing. I will be on this cruise in late Sept. 2017, and have been looking forward to reading some reviews/impressions of this year's itineraries(been on the Summit many times to Bermuda and the Caribbean, but not Canada/NE). What port did you miss due to the storms and how were the ones you visited?

 

 

I was on the same cruise as Tom. We missed Bar Harbor due to the remnants of Matthew. Captain Kate slowed the ship down to 8 knots to allow the 25 ft seas and 50 knot winds to pass eastward. As it was we still had 15 ft waves and 40 knot winds. That was one hellish night, let me tell you.

 

 

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[CruiserN1]

I was on the same cruise as Tom. We missed Bar Harbor due to the remnants of Matthew. Captain Kate slowed the ship down to 8 knots to allow the 25 ft seas and 50 knot winds to pass eastward. As it was we still had 15 ft waves and 40 knot winds. That was one hellish night, let me tell you.

 

We were supposed to be on a Canada/NE cruise on Princess that week but changed to a Celebrity Thanksgiving week cruise instead. Glad we didn't have to endure those winds & waves. We would have been really sad to miss Bar Harbor too as we've been there before and love it.

[trbarton]

I've always found the M-class ships to have both the Rendezvous Lounge and the one up the top for dancing...maybe not 4 but isn't 2 enough?

 

I'm not sure if you're into dancing but with 2 options, both not having dancing at the same time, I found the venues to sometimes to have no seats available. Having different options you also have different types of music 🎶 to dance 💃🏿 to.

 

Like I said before it's how they decided to lay out the ship & what they decided to use the venues for.

 

On Princess you had one show in the Showroom with different entertainment stall brought on board plus another room with a show with the production staff.

 

I also found that in the daily schedules with cruise lines if you go from the main theatre to do something else the other venue is packed. The production shows ends around 8 pm & another activity starts at the same time. It would be nice if there was 30 minutes between activities at night.

 

Tom😎

[DrivesLikeMario]

We actually prefer Princess, but like you - that's exactly why we have 3 Celebrity cruises booked within an 11 month period - their itineraries. Princess just doesn't do the ones we want to do anymore. And, Celebrity's perks seal the deal. Thanks for the review!

[Fish Lover]

I'm not sure if you're into dancing but with 2 options, both not having dancing at the same time, I found the venues to sometimes to have no seats available. Having different options you also have different types of music 🎶 to dance 💃🏿 to.

 

Like I said before it's how they decided to lay out the ship & what they decided to use the venues for.

 

On Princess you had one show in the Showroom with different entertainment stall brought on board plus another room with a show with the production staff.

 

I also found that in the daily schedules with cruise lines if you go from the main theatre to do something else the other venue is packed. The production shows ends around 8 pm & another activity starts at the same time. It would be nice if there was 30 minutes between activities at night.

 

Tom😎

 

Activities are deliberately scheduled to overlap because this is how they disperse the passengers. With 3,000 plus passengers on board you can't have everyone trying to go to the same place.

[Edgewater601]

Canada/ New England on Celebrity Summit

 

The following is my review of Celebrity Summit.

 

This is my first cruise on Celebrity.

 

We sailed October 2 - 16 out of Bayonne NJ.

 

I have taken many cruises, more on Princess. I found everything on the Summit to be fine and the service was excellent. It was a great cruise although we missed one port due to one of the storms.

 

Here are some things that I observed. .

 

There was very few dancing venues unlike Princes where you usually find 4 different venues with live music plus a disco. We both like dancing so we always had to check to see what dancing options there were. Although the bands were excellent there were not enough choices. The Summit was not designed with dancing in mind.

 

2. All of the showroom shows were excellent & we enjoyed meeting some of the production staff.

 

3. Captain Kate was excellent & kept us updated with daily reports and weather reports as needed.

 

4. Food in the dinning rooms was excellent and the buffet always had plenty of options.

 

5. The ship was in excellent shape. Because of the design of the Celebrity theatre you only had 2 options to enter & leave the theatre.

 

6. I was surprised on the last night where they locked the refrigerator & everything was taken out and put on the desk.

 

7. Check in was excellent but we were surprised that you couldn't go to your stateroom until around 1:30 pm unlike Princess where your stateroom is available when you board, if nothing else to drop off your carry-on's.

 

8. The Connections party was scheduled for 1/2 hr although most of the primary officers were present. Not much time for meeting other people. I was in charge of a gift exchange so I had to rush things along as Celebrity ran everything so it was there event rather than an event planned by Cruise Critic members.

 

9. I received a 1 hr voucher for internet but it had to be used continuously for 60 minutes.

 

These are just my observations & as I said earlier these are my observations.

 

Would I use Celebrity again, possibly if the price was right & was an itinerary that interested us.

 

Tom😎

 

Hi Tom,

 

Welcome home! It was great to meet you. Your review was on point but there were a couple of items I would like to clarify, Items 5 and 9.

 

There are actually 4 doors to leave the Celebrity Theatre, 2 doors on Deck 4 and 2 doors on Deck 5. You were always sitting in the front row on Deck 4 so I am sure you probably did not see the exits on Deck 5.

 

We have elite status on Celebrity and got 90 free internet minutes as well; however, ours could be used over the course of the entire cruise. I just wanted to make people aware that not ALL free vouchers require continuous use.

 

We very much enjoyed the cruise and for the most part had good weather (the first day in Quebec City with rain and the missed port in Bar Harbor due to rough seas from remnants of Matthew being the exceptions). The leaf color in many ports was beautiful if you had a tour in the countryside.

 

My only disappointment was missing Bar Harbor which just means I will have to go back! I love sailing with Captain Kate. This was our second cruise with her and we have found her to be the most visible, approachable, knowledgeable and caring captain we have sailed with. Her decision to miss Bar Harbor, while disappointing, was the right one due to her concern for the safety of her passengers, ship, and crew. Her parents were on board our cruise and I know they are so proud of the woman and captain she has become.

 

It was a great cruise and we enjoyed meeting and touring with you Tom!

 

Connie

[Iamthesea]

Celebrity theater - And don't forget the emergency exits...one a short cut to the staterooms on the lower level. :)

 

Great cruise and friendly crew! Love the size of the ship, but did get bored on the sea days.

 

Enjoyed meeting everyone. :)

 

Since we never received an invitation for the official CC party, we missed out on the 60 minute voucher ( would have been welcoming), but we did have the Elite minutes. One thing new that I noticed was when our minutes ran out, I needed to make a quick email check, but was not given an option to purchase a minute to minute connection. The smallest minute option was something like an hour for around $24. I passed and waited until we docked in NJ to get online with my data.

[Edgewater601]

Celebrity theater - And don't forget the emergency exits...one a short cut to the staterooms on the lower level. :)

 

Great cruise and friendly crew! Love the size of the ship, but did get bored on the sea days.

 

Enjoyed meeting everyone. :)

 

Since we never received an invitation for the official CC party, we missed out on the 60 minute voucher ( would have been welcoming), but we did have the Elite minutes. One thing new that I noticed was when our minutes ran out, I needed to make a quick email check, but was not given an option to purchase a minute to minute connection. The smallest minute option was something like an hour for around $24. I passed and waited until we docked in NJ to get online with my data.

 

You are correct about the emergency exit, but thankfully I wasn't looking for one! I was at the connections party and still did not get the 60 minute internet voucher. This is the second cruise that I have heard they gave those out that I did not get one. I wonder if it is because I am elite and got the 90 minutes due to my status. Perhaps they are figuring one free voucher is enough and not giving the 60 minutes to all connection attendees. Does anyone know for sure for my future cruise reference?

 

Thanks,

Connie

[Cinerama]

7. Check in was excellent but we were surprised that you couldn't go to your stateroom until around 1:30 pm unlike Princess where your stateroom is available when you board, if nothing else to drop off your carry-on's.

Tom😎

 

Is this just for the cruise he was on or all Celebrity cruises?

[rmalbers]

Is this just for the cruise he was on or all Celebrity cruises?

 

It's port specific, arrival times, etc. but that is probably a good average time when rooms are ready.

[WEGL81]

It's port specific, arrival times, etc. but that is probably a good average time when rooms are ready.

 

 

It's a little deceptive that Princess advertises that your room is ready when you board. I've sailed Princess quite a bit. They don't let you board as early as Celebrity so the rooms will be ready. If they let you board as early as X, their cabins wouldn't be ready either.

 

 

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[MingMing63]

We are booked in Aqua class room 9099 next September. Does anyone have any info on noise from the pool area?

[trbarton]

You are correct about the emergency exit, but thankfully I wasn't looking for one! I was at the connections party and still did not get the 60 minute internet voucher. This is the second cruise that I have heard they gave those out that I did not get one. I wonder if it is because I am elite and got the 90 minutes due to my status. Perhaps they are figuring one free voucher is enough and not giving the 60 minutes to all connection attendees. Does anyone know for sure for my future cruise reference?

 

Thanks,

Connie

 

The internet voucher was not from the connections party but from a drawing in the photo department.

 

Tom😎

[trbarton]

Is this just for the cruise he was on or all Celebrity cruises?

 

I'm new to Celebrity but my understanding is it's a Celebrity policy which would mean all Celebrity ships. Hopefully season cruisers with Celebrity will also respond.

 

Tom😎

[trbarton]

It's a little deceptive that Princess advertises that your room is ready when you board. I've sailed Princess quite a bit. They don't let you board as early as Celebrity so the rooms will be ready. If they let you board as early as X, their cabins wouldn't be ready either.

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I've boarded Princess many times around 11:30 to 12 noon & have always been able to go to my state room right away.

 

Tom😎

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[Cinerama]

It's a little deceptive that Princess advertises that your room is ready when you board. I've sailed Princess quite a bit. They don't let you board as early as Celebrity so the rooms will be ready. If they let you board as early as X, their cabins wouldn't be ready either.

 

 

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So, what time does Celebrity let you board?

[Fish Lover]

We've boarded as early as 10:30am.

[Baron Barracuda]

Was on the 9/4 sailing where we sailed through Hermine and also had one rough night.

 

Too bad you missed Bar Harbor. Wonderful little port with lots to do. Plan to go back again. Quebec was equally amazing. Glad we stayed overnight.

 

On pretty much all of my X and Royal cruises we were able to board by 11am but cabins weren't available until 1-1:30. Cabin stewards work very hard but it takes time to set up for new sailing.

[Hydrokitty]

We are booked in Aqua class room 9099 next September. Does anyone have any info on noise from the pool area?

 

We've boarded as early as 10:30am.

 

MingMing: We were on the same cruise as Tom, which departed 10/2. On our cruise noise from the pool was not a problem because while the pool was opened, nobody used it!!! The only pool that was used was the spa pool and while people were using the hot tubs, there were plenty of empty lounges every day (no chair hogs on this trip!) Instead of towels, there were blankets on each chaise! It was very cold and windy up there!

 

FishLover: we boarded about 11:30 and because we were concierge class, were immediately escorted to the MDR for lunch. While we were having lunch we got word that our cabins were ready, which was between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m., although luggage wasn't delivered until several hours later.

 

A word about the lunch: thanks to all the posters who posted the lunch menu, which consisted of lamb or fish, neither of which I eat, but also had a delicious soup and salad...and the chocolate dulce de leche cake, with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream is to die for!!!

 

I'm not going to add to Tom's excellent review but I will add a few thoughts about the excursions. I have difficulty walking, so all of the excursions we took were either moderate or mild.

 

Halifax: Peggy's Cove is beautiful, easy walking but not a whole lot of time and the HOHO bus was great.

 

Sydney: Heritage Village was very interesting BUT..it's rated as mild and should be rated as moderate to strenuous because the Village is at the top of a really steep hill. The bus takes you up, but you have to walk down and it was not easy. The Cape Breton oatcakes were delicious and they'll even give you the recipe.

 

Charlottetown, PEI: My favorite port. House was very interesting, especially if you're an Ann of Green Gables fan....plenty of time to tour the house and walk the paths mentioned in her books...and the lobster lunch was fun because the whole lobster was served with no instructions and plenty of napkins!

 

Quebec: Also my favorite port! We took the bus tour to the Hotel Frontenac with its spectacular views. The hotel itself was not as impressive as I expected and you CAN use the bathrooms! (although the tour guide will tell you that you cannot). After lunch on board we walked on our own (across the street) to the Museum of Civilization, which has one of the best Native Peoples exhibits I have ever seen. On our second day we went to Montmorency Falls, which was nice but it would have been better had we stopped at the base of the Falls rather than the gift shop/restaurant at the top of them...and the Sugar Shack was loads of fun.....best apple pie ever....and if you like maple syrup don't miss the frozen syrup on a stick!! You make your own and your dentist will love you!

 

Bar Harbor: like everyone we were looking forward to spending the day here visiting the National Park but it was not to be and Capt. Kate did a great job minimizing the discomfort to everyone on board.

 

Portand: On our own. We were supposed to take the Mail Boat for a 3 hour cruise around all the islands but because we had to do immigration here instead of Bar Harbor were too late getting off the ship to make it...so we took the ferry to Peak's Island, which was very scenic and charming.

 

Boston: We've been here so many times and DH wanted to take the "Duck tour", which we had already done in Seattle, but he really wanted to so we did. This was one of the best tours we did! First we drove around Boston and saw many of the sites and then we drove that school bus into the water and toured the harbor. Unlike Seattle, we did not have quackers to blow at people on the street and we were very grateful for that. But it was a short 2 hour land and sea tour with an excellent guide and a really different tour if you've never done one...and you'll have the whole afternoon to ride the HOHO bus there.