Summit Bermuda Review 08/20/17-08/27/17 – from a suite perspective

[njaloha]

Part 1 - Arrival

New Jersey residents in our late 50’s, my husband and I traveled to the Cape Liberty Port in Bayonne, NJ, by personal car. On a Sunday morning, we enjoyed an easy drive without any traffic whatsoever. We left home at 10:30 and arrived at 11:20. Lots of attendants to direct people where to go except that they need to communicate a bit better since we almost had a fender bender when we were told to go to the curb and some guy decided to pull out right when we pulled up next to him.

 

Luggage loaded off to the curb and in the hands of the porters, we made our way to the garage entrance where another attendant pushed the button and handed us our ticket (keep it with you for when you get back,more on this at the end of the review). Attendants directed us up to level 4 and showed us where to park. This is very organized and the guys alternated from one side to the other so that nobody was in danger of being hit. Once parked, we took out our carry-on bags and made our way to the elevators down to the street level.

 

Lots of signs helped us get to zone 5 for the security checkpoint. Suites???? Right this way. After security, port staff showed us to the proper check-in line for Suites. Suites??? Right this way. Very quickly we were checked in and shown the door to the gangway. We even had our own suite guest gangway onto deck 4 right by Michael’s Club. We went in to check it out but didn’t stay long.

 

Lunch awaited in Luminae so that was our next stop. Oh and it’s only a little before noon at this point. From our home to Luminae in 90 minutes with 50 minutes of that time driving and parking. At Luminae, we enjoyed our very peaceful lunch with an extraordinarily attentive crew of servers and Maggie, the Sommelier. We were served by Paolo, Kasuwa, O’Neill and Charles was our Maitre D’.

 

At 1:30, the announcement came for all passengers to proceed to their ready cabins. When we arrived at our cabin, our bags stood waiting outside the door. Our butler, Sujith introduced himself right away and was very visible and attentive throughout the cruise. I requested a few specific things like an additional chair for my husband who would be spending some time working at the desk (Don’t judge! He’s a consultant who doesn’t get paid unless he works. side note – he said the internet worked extremely well and he had to do some demanding tasks.)

 

We unpacked and took pictures from the balcony (port side with view of NYC) until the muster drill. After the drill we headed to deck 5 outside the theater where we were escorted by Anastasia (Michael’s Club Concierge) through a crew area behind the stage onto the helipad for a private suite guests only sail away party with champagne and mimosas served to us. We sailed up the bay to Lady Liberty and lower Manhattan where Captain Alex turned the ship around to head out under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, ship’s horn blasting, and out into Raritan Bay ahead of the Breakaway this time.

 

Part 2 in next post - Michael's Club and Luminae :D

Edited August 28, 2017 by njaloha
spacing

[njaloha]

Part 2 - Michael's Club and Luminae

Michael’s Club Review - Of course, at 3:30 most days, we made our way down to Michael’s for tea. Such a lovely advantage to suite life. We always had the option to enjoy tea in our cabin with a simple call to our butler with drink (water, wine, gin and tonic etc), tea or coffee order and a sampling of tea sandwiches, sweets and scones, oh the scones with jam and cream. I miss my scones as I sit here hungering for them right now.

 

 

As suite guests, we didn’t need to go to any bar or café for drinks or coffee during the entire cruise. All our needs were met right in Michael’s Club. From spa and specialty dining reservations to future cruise appointments and shore excursion bookings,our Michael’s club concierge covered it all. Some evenings there was even entertainment. We enjoyed the quiet comfort of the cozy interior which offered a welcome break from the sun and heat during the day.

 

 

Luminae review – the wait staff and chefs provided outstanding service and meals once again. I was a little confused though when our welcome letter stated we needed to make reservations every night at Luminae. When I asked Charles, he said to arrive around 6 or after 7:30 so we wouldn’t have to wait. Most nights we headed down around 7:30 and we dined at the far back table by ourselves. Each evening, the meal began with AmuseBouche to wake our pallets.

 

On formal, oops, I mean chic nights, the chef provided a dessert bar with his compliments. On those two nights, we received a plate of a sample of what was offered including candies, cookies and marshmallows on sticks (odd and dry) as well as whatever dessert we ordered. Also, after our maincourse, our waiter offered a palette cleanser each night which ranged between simple sorbets to an apple sorbet with horseradish (like garlic ice cream blech) to a poached mango “ravioli” filled with, I think, lemon mousse.

 

 

My favorite night was lobster night (second chic night) and the intriguing and unique way Celebrity chefs in Luminae prepare and present the lobster. This cruise we enjoyed lobster on butternut squash and savoy cabbage with champagne sauce. You might say that sounds terrible but I’m telling you, think outside the box. Lobster doesn’t have to be just lobster with lemon and butter. On Silhouette and Infinity, for example, it’s paired with citrus. One day, we were offered an appetizer of lobster ‘salad’ which was lump tail meat with slivers of hearts of palm and pineapple (very thin pieces in between the lumps of lobster meat). Amazing.

 

Oh and the bread at dinner!!!! Lavash, with paprika or lemon pepper or sesame seeds or parmesan. 2 nights the bread basket held the most amazing little popovers. Sigh.

 

Breakfast we saw an addition to the egg plates – grilled tomato – never liked them never will but they were pretty . I ordered scrambled eggs or chose an omelet (any ingredient you might want). Croissants and pastries of course and juices and smoothies too. Lots of options like pancakes, French toast, egg white wrap, and eggs Benedict 3 ways (classic, florentine or with smoked salmon).

 

My only complaint with Luminae would have to be the desserts. Presented in the same way as on the Infinity in October, the desserts (and almost the entire menu) were familiar. Pudding type desserts presented as ribbons on the plate and paired with either ice cream or sorbet which became soupy as the ice cream melted quickly causing a puddle on the plate. Unexpected cookie crumbles under the ice cream also didn’t appeal to me. Over use of flower petals and little pink candy flowers bugged me as well. Would it stop me from cruising Celebrity suites or dining in Luminae, heck NO!

Cabin Review next - Part 3

Edited August 28, 2017 by njaloha

[njaloha]

Part 3 -

Cabin review – 8127 – Accessible Sky Suite -

Gerald our Cabin steward and Sujith, our butler, gave us amazing service. I asked for a few things to be changed in the cabin before dinner the first night and by the time we returned from dinner, all my requests were met. One of my main issues was the lack of decent pillows, actually pretty crappy ones on the bed so I requested two more and received 2 beautiful amazing pillows. I wish I had taken a picture of the lousy mismatched pathetically puny pillows we originally had on the first night.

 

I have to say that even though lots of folks report that the Summit is showing her age, most areas were in fantastic shape. We did see a good amount of rust showing on outer areas like Luminae windows (outside) and on our balcony. I did report in my formal Celebrity review that our cabin balcony glass was filthy and that the table and floor were stained and dirty. I also think the curtains need attention. I reported that the bathroom door squeaks and doesn’t close well unless slammed (unfortunately)so we didn’t close it all the way. The cabin door molding fell off. The balcony door was difficult to open and close. I enjoyed the suite on a higher deck instead of deck 6. The cabin had unobstructed views down but the view is obstructed above by the deck 10 overhang. This worked for us because it gave us more shade in the afternoons in Bermuda. No footstools on the balcony though. The Infinity had them. I suppose I could have asked for them but managed without.

 

Speaking of deck 10, if you smoke, you’re warned during the muster drill not to throw ciggies overboard. Some people think those rules don’t apply to them. I sure wish, for everyone’s safety, that those people would listen and follow the rules please. On the first night, we sat on our balcony and saw glowing orange butts sparkling down from deck 10 to the service deck on 5 by the life boats. I reported it on the first night and I didn’t see it happen again.

 

Part 4 - Entertainment, Pool Deck, Rooftop Garden/movies at night

Edited August 28, 2017 by njaloha

[njaloha]

Part 4 - Entertainment, Pool Deck, Rooftop Garden/Outdoor Movies at night, Sunset Bar

 

Entertainment – We saw the comedian – he was ok – maybe I was tired. Lots of people were laughing loudly at his jokes – maybe they were drunk. 😊 Theater was full. On the first formal…chic…night (Monday night), we had reserved seats in the theater (suite guests) for the show, Life, and Captain Alex’s welcome. A pretty good show with a few surprises toward the end, we enjoyed it, but I didn’t get the connection between the description of the show and the show itself. Left with my head shaking. Also,the seats all around on deck 5 are terrible. The railing cuts the view in half. Get seats down on deck 4 or in the first row on deck 5. My husband is taller than me and he didn’t have any problem. I had to either sit up super straight or scootch down sideways to see which gave me a crick in my neck. We decided not to return for any other shows after that.

 

Pool Deck – we found seats on the deck above the pool only once and that was mid afternoon during the eclipse. Glasses were handed out by pool butlers and we had a great time watching the moon partially cover the sun and the air became cooler as the light from the sun dimmed. I think we were at about 85%. The pool deck was mobbed of course. We never sat out in the sun (too hot) or swam in the pool (too human soupy) on any of the other days. Too chaotic and crowded for us; lots of chairs not being sat in, covered with belongings and towels and turned every which way. Pool butlers do an excellent job getting that mess back in order every night. In my opinion, the indoor pool does not have enough seating. We spent a lot of time on our balcony.

 

Rooftop Garden – Movies every night. My complaint was that Boss Baby played entirely too many times in one day. Horrible movie. BUT we did stay up and watch Guardians of the Galaxy 2, twice!!!! HAHAHA! Watched LIFE one night – it’s a horror movie in space. But we sat on wet cushions and got pelted with black sooty stack debris at one point so be aware of that potential and bring a towel.

 

Buffet - Never went to the buffet but walked through it to get to the Sunset Bar. It’s small and has a closed off feel but I’m comparing it to the Solstice class buffet. Food looked good, we just didn’t have the need to go there.

 

Sunset Bar – a favorite spot to go to that gave us an excuse to walk off some dinner – or to get a drink before the movie. Sean Roach, guitar vocalist, played here at 10:15. He did a unique version (his own) of “I Walk The Line” by Johnny Cash.

[njaloha]

In General – my observations or experiences

 

Yes there were kids – and from what I could tell by the dailies, they had lots to do and were well behaved. It looked like friendships were formed and Celebrity planned for teens, tweens and everything else. I was concerned about the kids, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be except for the couple in the cabin next to us who insisted on going out onto the balcony with a screaming toddler. Lots of parents with strollers mixed in with scooters, walkers and canes. Interesting mix of passengers not necessarily all from NY or NJ. The strollers made elevators hard to get sometimes but walking the stairs worked off the extra load of calories consumed during the 4 meals per day.

 

Lack of passenger elevator etiquette bugged me – It’s hot on a Bermuda cruise in August and packing the elevators with too many people is disgusting and extremely rude. If your elevator arrives and it’s already full, don’t squeeze in, please don’t. I ended up leaving an elevator when a woman and her husband did this and I walked the stairs the rest of the way. :mad: Also, elevators that sail past your floor empty and going in the direction you wanted to go. That really ticked me off. One of the elevators needed service so maybe that contributed to the problem.

 

Another feature that Solstice Class has that Millennium Class does not have – sliding doors from inside to outside spaces (except on deck 10 by the pool, Summit and Infinity have an auto door). For example, all the doors on deck 5 on Solstice Class slide open when approached. There is one aft near Blu that isn’t automatic. On Summit and Infinity, most doors have handles, require pushing open and often slam shut which was the case mid-ship by the smoking area on deck 4. We’d sit on our portside balcony on deck 8 in the evening and listen to the banging of that door over and over again. Keep that in mind should you consider booking cabins 6107, 09, 11 (Concierge Class) or the Sky Suites nearby (aft of midship elevators portside).

 

Captain Alex’s favorite word – “Oops!” and the whole, “where oh where could Bermuda beeeeee” during the slow crawl south. Funny and enjoyable to listen to every morning at 10am.

[njaloha]

Debarkation in Cape Liberty. Suite life is sweet. After breakfast in Luminae while the ship smoothly sailed back under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, we “checked” out of our cabin and headed down to Michael’s. This was the most difficult part of the process since we needed to catch an elevator and all were full of passengers doing the same thing. After about what felt like 15 minutes, we snagged one and headed down to Michael’s to wait for Anastasia to give us the high sign to leave the ship. We left Michael’s Club at 8:20am and were in our car leaving the garage by 8:50 remarking at 8:45 while in the garage elevator that we thought we’d be just leaving Michael’s by 8:45. We were home by 9:45.

 

In detail, as suite guests, we were escorted from Michael’s by the concierge, Anastasia. She came with us to the terminal building where plenty of terminal staff directed us to where we needed to go to get our bags. The holding area for the bags was conveniently positioned by the suite line for customs. We went through the quick customs line and then on to the garage. A staff person for the garage directed us to a kiosk and helped us scan the ticket and our credit card. Then we made our way to the elevators, the same ones we took on the way to the ship after parking. Up to our car, loaded the bags and off we went. Very quick and well organized. NO TRAFFIC. Sunday departures are golden. We’re used to Ft. Lauderdale which, as many of you know, is jammed on Saturdays and Sundays.

 

In conclusion -

 

I was nervous sailing out of NJ during hurricane season since hurricanes do come up the coast this time of year as we witnessed with Gert. However, we had super smooth sailing down and back and hot humid breezy and sunny weather in Bermuda smoother than sailing from Florida to the Caribbean. The only rain fell Friday midday and Friday evening during dinner. Beautiful trip. We booked for next year – same cabin, same week. We’re also looking forward to Silhouette in February in an aft corner Sky Suite!!. :D:D:D

[njaloha]

Bermuda - What we did for 3 days.

BERMUDA –

Bermuda is a lovely island with lovely people. Day one found us sweating our way up Front Street past countless pubs and watering holes. Our goal? Taste 141. We walked in and were graciously seated even though we were dripping with sweat from the walk. Probably we would have been better off in a pub but hind-sight, 20/20, yeah. Taste 141 is in the first floor of an office building and the other diners were clearly local business folks out for lunch. A table of suit-jacketed, Bermuda-shorted, high-black-socked,black-business-shoed executives graced the corner table. They clearly knew the ladies out to lunch at the center table. Sir George came in and declared quietly that he would buy them lunch. They all tittered respectfully and appreciatively. As Sir George left, he graciously said hello to us and asked us where we were from, asked us how we were enjoying our stay and suggested that we visit the Commissioner’s House at the museum in Dockyard. Bottom-line, we found ourselves smack in the middle of proper Bermudian lunch hour. Fascinating.

We booze shopped on the way back to the ferry and called it a day.

 

Day 2 (Thursday) we took the St. George’s Ferry and decided to try walking to Fort St Catherine and then lunch at the Beach House. We made it as far as the Unfinished Church which is fascinating. The roads really aren’t meant for pedestrian traffic and we were afraid we’d get hit by a car so we asked the nice man at the shave ice place if he knew anyone who drove a shuttle who could pick us up. He walked out into the street and as luck would have it, a taxi/shuttle was driving by. The driver gave us a ride for $4 each. After the tour of the fort, we had our lunch at the Beach House. Expensive!!! But worth it for the views alone. And the breezes.

 

I’ll tell you what the St George’s Ferry is an exciting ride. If you take it, be sure to sit outside or at least be outside as the ferry pulls away from Dockyard. You’ll be treated with a stunning sight of your cruise ship as you zoom powerfully across the water. Then when you return by ferry be sure to beat the back when the ferry powers up out of the town bite to open water. It is cool!

 

Day 3 (Friday) – DH worked a bit then got an 80-minute deep tissue massage. I went ashore to the Commissioner’s house which wasn’t air conditioned so I sat on the porch andenjoyed views and breezes. I took abunch of pictures of tunnels and rooms in the walls. I’ll try to post them here. I have one of the Summit through a cannon hole in the wall of the fort. Another hot day cut my shore time short. Imelted my way back to the ship saving me piles of money by not making it to the mall.

 

Back on board, I met my husband and we had lunch in Luminae. Now here’s a cool thing they do on the Summit. They open Luminae on the last port day so suite guests can have the option to have a quiet lunch. That’s cool.

 

Sad note -

Unfortunately, we had an 80-year-old male passenger who drowned at Snorkel Park and on Wednesday night, our first in Bermuda, in themiddle of the night we heard a call out to cabin 7167 or 7147 that woke us upout of a sound sleep. Crew said it was a medical emergency. I also heard that a child from our ship drowned but I haven’t seen any news reports on that. There was an article in Bernews about the 80-year-old man drowning.

 

One final note, during the night Monday into Tuesday, the ship turns the clocks ahead 1 hour. The last night of the cruise (Saturday night) we got the hour back and the ship turned the clocks back 1 hour giving is an extra hour of fun. I found it odd that the time change occurred on the last night.

 

Hope you enjoyed my review. Life will be a bit busy in the next few days but if I have time I’ll upload a few pics (not of food) and I’ll be available to answer questions if I can. ;)

[tompeter]

Thanks for the review!

[JennJohnNYC]

Great review! We did the Summit penthouse a few weeks ago and agree with everything you said about the suite life.:) Quick question, is there now a concierge manager on board? Someone mentioned this position and I was hoping you knew the persons name? Maja was our concierge in Michaels and I'm hoping she got a promotion to this position. Thanks!

[montgomeryfamily]

I enjoyed your review. We are cruising next week and have the accessible sky suite next door to the one you were in. I have a few questions please.

 

On the balcony of the sky suite, was there a table and, if so, how big was it? Were there any loungers or just chairs?

 

Were there suite reserved wheelchair accessible theatre seats in the theatre? Also, for the sail away party, I note that you meet at the theatre and went behind the stage. Was there steps on this routing or did the concierge take you a way that did not involve any steps?

 

I also note that you saw the rooftop movie. Was the lift working?

Also, did any of your party use the lift at the pool/hot tub--was it working?

[Zigster]

Enjoyed your review, thank you for posting. I always look forward to the lobster dish in Luminae - it is delicious!

[njaloha]

I enjoyed your review. We are cruising next week and have the accessible sky suite next door to the one you were in. I have a few questions please.

 

 

 

On the balcony of the sky suite, was there a table and, if so, how big was it? Were there any loungers or just chairs?

 

 

 

Were there suite reserved wheelchair accessible theatre seats in the theatre? Also, for the sail away party, I note that you meet at the theatre and went behind the stage. Was there steps on this routing or did the concierge take you a way that did not involve any steps?

 

 

 

I also note that you saw the rooftop movie. Was the lift working?

 

Also, did any of your party use the lift at the pool/hot tub--was it working?

 

 

 

Hi

We had a table and two chairs. No lounges. The table was big enough to have tea on which we did twice. There's plenty of room for a wheelchair on the balcony.

There are wheelchair/handicapped locations reserved. Speak to your butler and he'll take care of you.

The access to the helipad is not wheelchair or handicapped accessible. There's not only an awkward threshold to navigate but a step set of stairs outside to get to the helipad, I'm sorry to say. I didn't see any other way to access this area.

Regarding the lift to the rooftop garden area, we met folks that tried it and couldn't get it to work. I would either check with your butler or guest services about this because I'm guessing it requires crew assistance to prevent misuse.

We did not use the pools at all and have no info on lift there. Sorry.

Hope this helps. Have a wonderful cruise!!!

 

 

 

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[njaloha]

Great review! We did the Summit penthouse a few weeks ago and agree with everything you said about the suite life.:) Quick question, is there now a concierge manager on board? Someone mentioned this position and I was hoping you knew the persons name? Maja was our concierge in Michaels and I'm hoping she got a promotion to this position. Thanks!

 

 

 

Thanks...

I'm sorry but I have no info on that question about the concierge manager.

 

 

 

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[montgomeryfamily]

Njaloha, is the table large enough to to have a meal? Is it as large as the round tables on the pool deck? I ask because the smaller tables I often see on balconies are such that we can't pull a wheelchair up to them because the legs are too narrow to fit a wheelchair under.

 

Its disappointing about the lift. From what I understand, it hasn't worked from the beginning of the Bermuda season (and maybe earlier than that). I don't understand why the ship hasn't had it repaired yet.

[njaloha]

Njaloha, is the table large enough to to have a meal? Is it as large as the round tables on the pool deck? I ask because the smaller tables I often see on balconies are such that we can't pull a wheelchair up to them because the legs are too narrow to fit a wheelchair under.

 

 

 

You're right.... The table isn't big enough to pull a wheelchair up to it and face it. Frankly there isn't a lot of room on the balcony in this class of ship in this suite category to turn around. You'll probably move up the ramp and pull out the balcony door and have to back down to get into the cabin again. You'll be facing toward the ocean with the table on your left when out on the balcony.

To be honest, we didn't have a wheelchair. But I'm giving you my opinion on what my experience was being out on the balcony. Maybe someone else on here has personal experience with a wheelchair on the accessible sky suite balcony.

:)

 

 

 

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[inforem]

My wife and I were on the cruise July 30th. We usually take your room, but my mom didn't go this time. The concierge at Michaels Club was Manuela. She was absolutely the best person we ever met. She was filling in for Maya who was on vacation. This was our 6th cruise on the Summit ((always a suite). Just booked a suite for July 29,2018. Hopefully Manuela will be there. Just one thing I need to disagree with you....I did not like the lobster in Luminae. And the last night...the food was uneatable.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your very comprehensive review!

Glad you enjoyed your Suite life onboard.

[TeeRick]

njaloha,

Thanks for the very well written and informative review. We have a sky suite on Summit for our Canada/NE cruise in a few weeks. We love both Luminae and Michael's Club!

[CruisersTimesThree]

Great review! We did the Summit penthouse a few weeks ago and agree with everything you said about the suite life.:) Quick question, is there now a concierge manager on board? Someone mentioned this position and I was hoping you knew the persons name? Maja was our concierge in Michaels and I'm hoping she got a promotion to this position. Thanks!

 

 

 

The new position that is rumored to be introduced is called the suite manager.

They will apparently oversee the butlers who service the suites and help suite guests with whatever issues they have, freeing up the MC concierge to do other things.

We sailed the Summit in July in the PH and our butler Chip told us that Maja was expected to get the position.

 

 

 

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[njaloha]

njaloha,

 

Thanks for the very well written and informative review. We have a sky suite on Summit for our Canada/NE cruise in a few weeks. We love both Luminae and Michael's Club!

 

 

 

You're welcome and have a great cruise!!! Pace yourselves [emoji6]

 

 

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[I_r_a]

Thanks for sharing, NJ

 

Ira

[Viktoria]

Montgomery family,I think we were in the same suite you will be in when we cruised last May. in my opinion the room was a big disappointment. The curtains were dirty and torn, the threshold into the bathroom kept lifting up and had to be screwed down twice. the ramp was old and dirty. We also had an issue with the pillows and had to change them twice because of the smell. I use a walker so did not have to use the seat in the shower. There are bars but the floor was so slippery that I had to hand wash every day as I was afraid of falling. My partner also found it to be slippery. When I mentioned it to the steward asking for a rubber pad, he told me to use the rubber soled slippers. Our butler was John and was seldom seen except on the last day when he wanted his tip. The balcony is quite small as well as the table. There was only one chair in the room. I mentioned all this to my TA who passed on the info and we received a credit for our next trip. I will never pay the extra money for a sky suite again. Most of all, be careful in the shower. Hopefully they did something to make it safer. Other than the room, the benefits of a suite were fun altho not what we expected.

[montgomeryfamily]

Viktoria, thank you for your comments and advice. I do hope that improvements were made on the room basis your complaints. The room we are in is next to the elevator adjacent to another accessible sky suite (the one the OP was in). There is another accessible sky suite on the other side of the elevator.

 

Unfortunately my family member does need to use the shower seat as he uses a wheelchair and cannot walk. But based on your experience, I am going to pack a shower mat to bring just in case.

 

I do hope we have a different butler. The butler the OP had sounded great. Perhaps if we have the same one as you, I'll ask for the butler the OP had.;p

 

Do you know if the lift into the pool and hot tub were working?

[Viktoria]

sorry, I don't know

[Duanerice1]

Thanks for sharing. Always interesting to see the difference between a suite and regular cabin. Great review.