Summit Review: Penthouse Cruisers Try Aqua Class

[BunnyLebowski]

sorry your review is ending, would love to hear more.

Norma

 

 

 

Thanks for the kind words, Norma. Much appreciated.

 

 

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[Happy Cruiser 6143]

As for the monitoring, the poor staff really can’t win in this situation. I was once surprised to be sent to the guest relations desk by the Michael’s Club person when trying to sort out the additional tips I was trying to distribute. Wasn’t accompanied, then was irritated to be waiting in a long line. I would have been thrilled to have a junior officer attend to the matter straight away, but the same experience caused you embarrassment. It’s impossible to please everyone and they are really trying very hard to do so.

 

That was obviously a poorly trained MC concierge. The good ones stress that you are never to stand in line anywhere. I would have escalated that to the Suite Manager. That is exactly the sort of thing the MC concierge should be able to sort out in a heartbeat. We've had some fabulous MC concierges (Maya and Bogdan) and one who was terrible (and shall remain nameless, but I won't sail with him again).

[warmwinds]

Movie screen on deck 12- Another nice surprise! The whole family enjoyed hanging out on the couches and watching an Avengers movie. Another day we snagged a lovely alcove and saw a short vignette about a musician I haven’t heard of before or since. Have read a lot of negativity about this space, but I thought it was rather nice. If there were better options for shade we would have spent even more time there.

 

 

 

Bermuda- our 3rd time there. Still beautiful. This trip the unexpected highlight at port was the floating pirate ship bar near the dock. The kids and I “walked the plank” into the beautiful Bermuda water and floated on noodles next to an historic fort while DH sipped rum swizzles and watched us from the bar. I made friends with a young woman from the NCL ship who got engaged that afternoon at snorkel park (!) She was over the moon, and her joy was contagious.

 

 

Generally- this is the most time we have spent “out and about” on a ship. Usually we’re sailing in the med and ashore during the day or enjoying the private PH deck at sea. This departure was really fun and it was great to finally explore all the ship has to offer. We did notice, though, that the staff doesn’t think my husband’s jokes are as funny when he isn’t paying for a penthouse suite.

 

 

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Have some friends who just got back from Bermuda on RCCL - they said they enjoyed a very close beach you could walk to and snorkel, I think it's actually called "Snorkel Beach" - is that where the pirate ship was?

 

And I had to laugh at your very last comment - makes you feel it's all kind of phony, the attention...at least I do. Others I know revel in it.

[RICCruisers]

Law Chick - just saw you are on Infinity next year. We are doing the 8/24 Adriatic from Venice to Barcelona. Maybe we’ll see you on board.

 

 

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[Fogfog]

Excellent review and very insightful

Helpful to hear about the ship/services and such from the perspective of someone who normally does a PH and is Elite...

 

 

BTW--How did you bring the cases of beverages on? I thought that was forbidden?

We don't have a bev package at the moment for a TA. So may think about bringing on wine and seltzer (which I drink gallons of daily)

[cangelmd]

Tipping- admittedly a fraught subject but worth addressing my philosophy on the matter. In a PH we really feel obligated to overtip everyone we come in contact with. Part of this is that we are Americans and that’s part of our culture. But more importantly it’s a bad look to be so fortunate to spend the week in the top suite and then to be anything less than very generous with the hard working people looking after us. I’m usually doing some advanced accounting to figure out who did what for us and needs an extra envelope. Caveat: am not referring to all suites here, only PH since it’s such over-the-top service that isn’t present elsewhere.

 

This week in Aqua class tipping was EASY. Cabin steward was perfect, and due to our love of sleeping in on vacation, we were not her easiest passengers. She got extra cash throughout our stay and more at the end. Bar staff, including at Elite happy hour, got a few extra dollars every time they made us a drink, so that was easy; pay as you go. And yes I carry a bunch of $1s with me everywhere. Room service delivery guy got $5 every morning. Everyone else did their jobs well enough but were not necessarily outstanding and deserved their auto grats easy peasy.

 

Conclusion - will return to suites when available for the luxury, privacy and family togetherness the extra space affords. DH and my oldest son definitely prefer a “supersuite”. But...we would absolutely sail in connecting veranda cabins again, especially on port intensive itineraries if our favorite cabin isn’t available and we saw an attractively priced offer. Turns out if we can just manage to get on the ship, we’ll have a great time regardless of the cabin.

 

We have our first B2B in the Adriatic booked for next summer on the Infinity out of Venice. Week 1 in connecting veranda cabins, moving to PH week 2. Was going to snag the PH week 1 if it opens up closer to sailing, but now I’m thinking it will be just fine if we stay put for a trip that combines the best of both worlds.

 

Wishing you all clear skies and smooth sailing.

 

 

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Much appreciate this review. We may go to suites one day, almost did on this cruise coming up, but based on your review, I'm not sure we would be spending the money for the right reasons. I hear what you are saying about maybe too much service. On trips with just the 2 of us, we don't really need the extra space. I would very much like to try Luminae, but I like Blu just fine (not so sure about the MDR). We would do suites for Luminae and for the bathtub.

 

I really think a lot of the trip is based on what you make of it, and whether or not you are determined to have a great time, or looking for reasons to be displeased.

 

Enjoy your next trip and thanks for the review!

[BunnyLebowski]

That was obviously a poorly trained MC concierge. The good ones stress that you are never to stand in line anywhere. I would have escalated that to the Suite Manager. That is exactly the sort of thing the MC concierge should be able to sort out in a heartbeat. We've had some fabulous MC concierges (Maya and Bogdan) and one who was terrible (and shall remain nameless, but I won't sail with him again).

 

 

 

 

 

This is useful information. I never figured out what the MC concierge was really good for, so maybe we just got a less-than-fabulous one the first time. Didn’t even know there was a Suite Manager position. Thanks for the heads up!

 

 

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[George C]

We booked this about 3 weeks out and all the suites were taken. At this point, any category or combination of categories is on the table for us.

 

 

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I made big mistake really wanted a suite for next year celebrity 60’s flower power cruise charter but could only get a aqua cabin beach boys and others were quest but after we turned it down they added cheech and Chong if i had know that would have booked aqua.

[BunnyLebowski]

Have some friends who just got back from Bermuda on RCCL - they said they enjoyed a very close beach you could walk to and snorkel, I think it's actually called "Snorkel Beach" - is that where the pirate ship was?

 

 

 

And I had to laugh at your very last comment - makes you feel it's all kind of phony, the attention...at least I do. Others I know revel in it.

 

 

 

The pirate ship bar is a separate establishment right in the dockyard. You can see it from the ship. I believe one walks by it on the way to Snorkel beach.

 

Agree, to a large extent all of the hospitality onboard a cruise ship is phony regardless of your cabin. I have a hard time believing all these ship employees are genuinely interested in the passengers much beyond their strong work ethic of wanting to do their job well and earn their tips.

 

Extreme friendliness is a job requirement. I know many feel like they have formed genuine friendships with staff members, but that seems like in reality it must be a rare occurrence when it actually does happen. I personally won’t ask a crew member about their personal life unless they bring it up themselves (which is rare, then only superficial information). Am trying to respect personal/professional boundaries.

 

The staff will show a desire to be friendly and helpful to everyone onboard regardless of cabin, and then the PH is this but 10x. As in literally no staff member is allowed to say “no” to a PH request unless it’s physically impossible to grant it. I guess the point of this review was to try to explain this hard-to-describe difference, and to talk about what a great experience and value cruising can be regardless of your cabin selection. It seems most readers understood this.

 

 

 

 

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[hcat]

I think you did just that and more...excellent review.

Confirms our AQ class choice for cruising but also hoping to do a suite on EDGE when prices stabilize a bit...

[BunnyLebowski]

Law Chick - just saw you are on Infinity next year. We are doing the 8/24 Adriatic from Venice to Barcelona. Maybe we’ll see you on board.

 

 

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That looks like an amazing itinerary! We hit a few of those ports 2 years ago. Would love to return to Ibiza for an extended stay. We’re sailing in the Adriatic closer to the beginning of the summer.

 

 

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[BunnyLebowski]

Excellent review and very insightful

 

Helpful to hear about the ship/services and such from the perspective of someone who normally does a PH and is Elite...

 

 

 

 

 

BTW--How did you bring the cases of beverages on? I thought that was forbidden?

 

We don't have a bev package at the moment for a TA. So may think about bringing on wine and seltzer (which I drink gallons of daily)

 

 

Thank you so much for the lovely compliment!

 

You can bring as many soft drinks onboard as you can reasonably carry. Put a luggage tag on them and check them with a porter. You may also bring (2) 750ml wine bottles onboard per cabin. We had 2 cabins, thus the 4 bottles. You can check these or carry them on yourself as we did.

 

Hope to one day do a transatlantic, but probably not for a few years at least. Would definitely bring sodas and seltzers for one of those. We asked the cabin attendant to empty the mini fridge, and I re-stocked with our own beverages. Extremely convenient.

 

 

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[dutchclogs]

Just curious, was there no problem bringing the 4 bottles of wine that two of your party were under age ?

[George C]

Celebrity charges a 25 dollar corkage fee if you drink it in restaurant or public space

[BunnyLebowski]

Much appreciate this review. We may go to suites one day, almost did on this cruise coming up, but based on your review, I'm not sure we would be spending the money for the right reasons. I hear what you are saying about maybe too much service. On trips with just the 2 of us, we don't really need the extra space. I would very much like to try Luminae, but I like Blu just fine (not so sure about the MDR). We would do suites for Luminae and for the bathtub.

 

 

 

I really think a lot of the trip is based on what you make of it, and whether or not you are determined to have a great time, or looking for reasons to be displeased.

 

 

 

Enjoy your next trip and thanks for the review!

 

 

 

Thanks so much! Agreed, we started out with a big suite because we are with our children. DH and I agree that if it’s ever just the 2 of us a balcony cabin would be perfectly lovely.

 

It’s funny, when the kids were little I longed for the day when it’s just the two of us again. Now that college is looming, I’m dreading it!

 

Luminae is quite nice and worth a try if you’re curious. But I think the theme here is it’s hard to go wrong no matter which cabin you select. Sounds like you’ll have a good time no matter what!

 

 

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[Happy Cruiser 6143]

One of the interesting things my friend and I discovered on our Mediterranean cruise this spring was how good dinner in the buffet was. We cruise Celebrity a lot, so the dining room menus are getting old. And we were on for 3 weeks. We would never have discovered dinner in the buffet if we had been in suites. We had booked regular cabins as we would be off the ship most of the time. We came back one night after an all-day tour and decided we weren't up for dressing for dinner. Went to the buffet and discovered they were bringing on local food from the ports. That night they had fresh mussels. So we kept going back to see what else they had. Several nights they had a very creative salad which was the best thing I've ever had on Celebrity. We were very impressed. So, whether or not you book a suite, you'll likely have a good experience.

[George C]

We were in suite but had most breakfast and lunch’s at buffet and did see the mussels they looked great was totally happy with food at buffet.

[Stem to Stern]

Linda,

That is a great buffet tip. Thank you!

[Zenica]

I looked at Penthouse, if I even thought of dropping the entire annual vacation budget on a single 7 day cruise I'd never hear the end of it.

And there would seemingly be more time to hear it being we'd all be home more!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Agreed, we missed the kitchen and particularly the deck. That really is a very special space.

 

As for the monitoring, the poor staff really can’t win in this situation. I was once surprised to be sent to the guest relations desk by the Michael’s Club person when trying to sort out the additional tips I was trying to distribute. Wasn’t accompanied, then was irritated to be waiting in a long line. I would have been thrilled to have a junior officer attend to the matter straight away, but the same experience caused you embarrassment. It’s impossible to please everyone and they are really trying very hard to do so.

 

 

 

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It seems, like me, you appreciate square footage and freedom to do as you please while still getting exemplary service in areas that are important to you. MDR room service, free next day laundry, free pressing and shoe shine, early embarkation, priority tendering, mimosa specialty dining breakfast........and NO butler.

 

Check out Princess suites. I recommend grand and owners suites on everything but the Royal Class ships and Coral and Island. I particularly love the Grand suites on the Grand Class ships.

 

On Island try Aloha deck aft suites. Coral is well loved by others but I don’t find any suites on her interesting. Pacific has 980 sq ft beauties on her aft deck.

 

On the Royal Class currently in play I have no suggestions as I’ve not been convinced the balconies and interior spaces are worth the money. The balconies tend to be small on most but not all suites and reports of soot on the aft have kept me away.

 

However the new yet unfinished Royal Class Sky and Enchanted Princess each have two Sky suites that I think are worth checking out. I’ve booked one for Dec 2019.

 

For suites 500 to 750 sq feet in size including HUGE balconies (large enough for two padded loungers and a full height dining table and chairs) I pay between $400 and $500 a day per person for cruise, taxes, port fees, auto grats and premium beverage package. The Sky suite is the only exception. It is a two bedroom 1600 sq ft suite and cost a little more.

I’ve sailed Aqua on Equinox and Balcony on QM2 for the same approximate price. While I loved those experiences once I left my room I won’t go back as personal space matters the most to me.

Happy cruising

[chemmo]

 

It’s funny, when the kids were little I longed for the day when it’s just the two of us again. Now that college is looming, I’m dreading it!

 

 

 

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Don’t loose sleep over it!

 

We thought the same but it didn’t happen. Our now adult son holidays with friends but still will manage to squash in cruises with us. Other holiday types he really isn’t bothered about but mention a cruise....

 

We laugh about the fact that when we go on our SKI (spend kids inheritance) cruises he is making sure he gets some of the pleasure!

 

Actually, 3/4 adult sharing a room with free premium drinks and speciality dining does make the initial cost much sweeter....

[BunnyLebowski]

I think you did just that and more...excellent review.

 

Confirms our AQ class choice for cruising but also hoping to do a suite on EDGE when prices stabilize a bit...

 

 

 

Thanks! Can’t go wrong with AQ. Looking forward to photos of the EDGE. Won’t be long now!

 

 

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[BunnyLebowski]

Just curious, was there no problem bringing the 4 bottles of wine that two of your party were under age ?

 

 

 

No problem at all. Possibly because DH was booked in one cabin and I was booked in the other? The port people really didn’t seem interested in our wine at all

 

 

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[Zenica]

Size wise the Sky Suite, Veranda, Aqua and Concierge are all smaller than NCL haven. So is the Celebrity suite by a very small margin.

Granted I only looked on the Summit and Breakaway. In our previous sailings, all except for one, we sailed NCL Haven and made a switch to Celebrity at the behest of our TA. It seems that Celebrity prices its Haven comparable cabins higher than NCL. A premium for not sailing the a dysfunctional cruise line I suppose.

 

 

Aside from the nearly triple space of the Penthouse, how else does it justify the nearly triple cost? We like space as much as anyone but when we are rarely in our cabin and the kids are with the au pair for several hours at a clip, the space would be mostly unused. The Michael's Club would be nice. I imagine it is similar to the Haven lounge which was where we were for 90% of the time we wanted to sit at a bar. It was quieter, the staff more attentive and the furniture more comfortable.

 

 

The rest seems like fluff because we'd probably not have a use for it. I have never had a resort launder my clothes, the piano in our house is for show because until our son or daughter is 6 and can start lessons, it remains a family heirloom my mom left them. We only availed ourselves of the Butler a handful of times and never even met the Concierge. Our excursions are always booked through an external company. Priority embarkation is a plus and almost reason alone with NCL out of NY but the Summit out of NJ was the polar opposite. We had priority embarkation but I don't see it as necessary. The dock is designed well, the people handle things efficiently and it was not pandemonium like in NY. I do wonder though, because no where else on the Summit could I find any but I see that the Penthouse has High Tea, is genuine British clotted cream served? Elsewhere on the ship they had the biscuits, the jams and traditional hard butter. If they have the genuine article, I have to figure out how to acquire it on the black market! I love going to London and having high tea at Fortnum & Mason! I might have to start a thread ahead of our next sailing....a clotted cream quest!

[BunnyLebowski]

One of the interesting things my friend and I discovered on our Mediterranean cruise this spring was how good dinner in the buffet was. We cruise Celebrity a lot, so the dining room menus are getting old. And we were on for 3 weeks. We would never have discovered dinner in the buffet if we had been in suites. We had booked regular cabins as we would be off the ship most of the time. We came back one night after an all-day tour and decided we weren't up for dressing for dinner. Went to the buffet and discovered they were bringing on local food from the ports. That night they had fresh mussels. So we kept going back to see what else they had. Several nights they had a very creative salad which was the best thing I've ever had on Celebrity. We were very impressed. So, whether or not you book a suite, you'll likely have a good experience.

 

 

 

Agree, this was my impression as well. Thanks for elaborating. Will check it out in Europe next summer

 

 

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