Summit - cabin 9164 - misc. Dining

[Donut23]

 

 

Hi!

 

Im back. 😋

 

I’m going to talk about dining.  Our experience was limited but our description of our experience would be ..... perfection.

 

Because I slept so much and morning meds are tough to keep down, many of my breakfasts were in the cabin.

 

(NOTE:  I brought on 2 12 packs of diet ginger ale and a case of water. They were marked “medical necessity”.  No one even looked at them.  We put them on MY wheelchair and I rode in a Summit chair. We had carry on luggage on top.)

 

jim would bring up to the room  “made as you watched” Eggs Benny and a small bowl of fruit.  (I love that man!).

 

We are mostly grab and go kind of people.  The Jammer/Oceanview Cafe (Jammer - can’t get the Royal Caribbean out of us) was perfect.

 

Luscious carved meats, mashed pots and gravy for Jim’s.  Jim is basically a meat and potatoes guy though he does eat salad now - and doesn’t die.   There was a vast array of every kind of salad you can imagine for me.  We were in heaven.

 

The food was fresh, excellent variety of cuisines, changed daily, plenty of seating.  Exceeded our expectations.

 

i think its a little spread out.  But then lines were easily managed.

 

This is one area I worry about the light colors wearing well.  You know, the back of the chairs where everyone grabs.  Years of hands touching that spot.  Will it begin to look shabby and it has heavy-heavy traffic.

 

Dinner - we dined in Blu or Cosmopolitan.  No specialty dining.

 

i slept through dinner once (damn pills) and later ordered room service.  Menu limited.  Did not like the chicken noodle soup but the hamburger was safe for my upset tummy.  They said 30-40 minute wait.  No problem.  We were enjoying our big balcony.  Food arrived in 20 minutes.

 

As many have commented, there isn’t really a great place to put the room service tray.  The desk?  Paleeeeeeeze.  Put the other half on it and the balcony needs a big table we can all sit around and gab, write postcards or study your port excursion plans.

 

We struggled with our dinner choices.

 

As Aqua Class we had access to Blu but the first night we tried Cosmopolitan. 

 

Service was ...... so good it hurt!  Rhandi (waiter) was especially special.  He was happy, efficient and friendly.  Everyone was terrific, honestly.

 

Food - never a whisper of dissatisfaction.

 

We went back the second night.  Lou’s Coke was already on the table, Jim’s beer arrived as he was helping me with my chair and my iced tea and Dark ‘n Stormy (it was a Bermuda Cruise after all) were on the table before my napkin was gently placed in my lap.  They made us feel special.

 

We told them the next night we would try Blu.  Apparently they did not expect us to return.

 

Blu .....

 

Remember the moment in the movie Titanic when Jack and Rose are enjoying the raucous fun in steerage.  The movie breaks and you are now in the stately quiet of the smoking/card room?  THAT is the difference between the Cosmopolitan and Blu.

 

Both restaurants are beautiful.  Again in Blu, the chairs are white.  How long will they look fresh and new.

 

Dinner?  Memorable with truly interesting choices.  I had the grilled octopus salad.  If you see this - TRY IT.  Marvelous.

 

Our wait staff were perfection-really.....very good.  They even grabbed an escargot for me from the Main Dining Kitchen next door.

 

The next night it was tough.  Which restaurant?  They both had cheesecake on the dessert menu so I was happy either way. (Cheesecake is a slice from heaven. It’s based on a NY Cheesecake but not Big and overwhelming.)

 

We went back to Cosmopolitan.  (We did have our last breakfast in Blu.  It was a quiet restful way to end the cruise).

 

There was a Worry with the AquaClass cabins added during her stay in the shipyard that Blu would suffer from crowding.  There were plenty of open tables when we were there.

 

Apparently it was a big deal for us to return from Blu.  Rhandi got dessert soufflés For us from Blu and service jumped up - if that was

possible.

 

We Did have lunch in Cosmopolitan a couple of times - Lou’s favorite thing to do.  Excellent.  

 

We were seated in the big high back chairs for lunch once.  Clumsy to move into but very comfortable once you are seated.

 

That was quite a ramble.  Sorry about that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[K12Guy]

1 hour ago, Donut23 said:

We were seated in the big high back chairs for lunch once.

I think my loving bride would take one of those chairs so she couldn't hear me. Not sure why.

[Turtles06]

8 hours ago, Donut23 said:

There was a Worry with the AquaClass cabins added during her stay in the shipyard that Blu would suffer from crowding.  There were plenty of open tables when we were there

 

I’m on the Summit now (Sept. 8 sailing, 14 nights NE/Canada).  We are not in Aqua Class but yesterday we were speaking with some folks who are and they said Blu has been terribly overcrowded and people have had to wait for tables. They also said the staff have been trying to come up with a solution, including opening earlier for dinner. 

[HS2BS]

Donut23,

 

Glad you enjoyed your Bermuda cruise. We are in that cabin in December(14 - 21) out of San Juan. This morning on another blog there was a comment about this cabin and the music from the deck above. Was it disturbing to you when you were inside the cabin? Outside on the balcony?

 

Hal

[Donut23]

10 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I’m on the Summit now (Sept. 8 sailing, 14 nights NE/Canada).  We are not in Aqua Class but yesterday we were speaking with some folks who are and they said Blu has been terribly overcrowded and people have had to wait for tables. They also said the staff have been trying to come up with a solution, including opening earlier for dinner. 

 

 

Maybe your sailing is more full than ours.  The last Bermuda sailing was not well booked I heard from various crew.  Also, we wandered to Blu late in their dinner hours.

 

im sorry to hear this was a problem.  It WAS a restful experience for us.

[Donut23]

53 minutes ago, HS2BS said:

Donut23,

 

Glad you enjoyed your Bermuda cruise. We are in that cabin in December(14 - 21) out of San Juan. This morning on another blog there was a comment about this cabin and the music from the deck above. Was it disturbing to you when you were inside the cabin? Outside on the balcony?

 

Hal

 

 

 

Hey Hal!

 

Music and noise from above WAS an issue on the balcony, I cannot deny it.  These sounds were seriously muffled inside.

 

Also, the sound of chairs dragging from above were quite loud inside the cabin.

 

Neither Of is were bothered sleeping and the noise didn’t drive us off our balcony but we WERE surprised.  Comparable cabins on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance Class Ships (we have sailed all 4) were never noisy.

 

Are you sensitive sleepers?  Would you be troubled by loud drinkers at the bar above?

 

There is so much which is GOOD about this cabin.  It DOES make things so much easier if you travel with a wheelchair or scooter.

 

i hope I could help.  Ask away if you have more questions.

 

Hug our cabin for us.😋

 

 

[HS2BS]

Donut23,

 

Noise is always a concern! A number of questions:

1. how late into the evening did the music and drinkers stay

2. how early did the chair scraping noise start

3. as a handicapped cabin what furniture is on the balcony - wheelchair accessible I’m assuming

4. to open and close balcony door is it easy from the balcony

( The reason that I ask that question is that we were on the Edge TA and our infinity balcony had a switch to control the balcony divider. The problem was that they never lowered it for wheelchair accessibility.)

 

Hal

[Donut23]

5 hours ago, HS2BS said:

Donut23,

 

Noise is always a concern! A number of questions:

1. how late into the evening did the music and drinkers stay

2. how early did the chair scraping noise start

3. as a handicapped cabin what furniture is on the balcony - wheelchair accessible I’m assuming

4. to open and close balcony door is it easy from the balcony

( The reason that I ask that question is that we were on the Edge TA and our infinity balcony had a switch to control the balcony divider. The problem was that they never lowered it for wheelchair accessibility.)

 

Hal

 

 

 

Hey Hal!

 

Let’s see ....... answers.

 

Inside and Outside Noise.

 

Bermuda cruises are different.  We steam down to paradise and then stay there for a few days.

 

We were grateful to Dorian.  In an attempt to stay out of the storm’s path, we picked up the pace and arrived 1 day early (an extra $148,000 in port service fees! Yikes!)

 

It was warm at night and that aft bar area is protected from the breeze.  Good gathering space.

 

First day, little noise - no one had found it I believe.

 

the following day at sea was glorious.  Lou spent the better part of mid-day dead asleep on the balcony.

 

Normal voices are muted, like white noise.  Not much morning noise at all.  You know people are talking nearby but you cannot pickup the exact conversation.  

 

UNTIL someone has too much to drink.  Those voices sometime pierce the muted voices.

 

Inside you don’t really hear the regular conversation at all .... the drunks you will hear —- but muted.

 

When we were awake we often had the news on.  Jim is a 40+ year employee of a network news program.  The TV blocked most.

 

ME?  Again.  I’m taking a medication which was doubled just before sailing.  I slept to Bermuda .... sleeping through dinner once.  Nothing bothered me from above.

 

The biggest annoyance was when people dragged the chairs around. THAT noise was obvious in our cabin.  It was occasionally during the day and when sounds died in the evening, you would hear them straightening the chairs for morning.  Generally not real late.  There wasn’t entertainment out there.  Maybe 10 ish.

 

Docked in Bermuda it was less of a problem.  I suspect they found other places to raise a ruckus. 

 

Also, first night at sea upon our return we went about 100 miles out of our way to avoid 25’ Seas the Norwegian ship sailed into.  We had a bumpy ride and not a whiff of noise from above.

 

It is a problem but other advantages of the cabin outweighed it for us.

 

 

Our balcony furniture:

 

2 New Tallback Deck Chairs with attached pillow-rolls which you can flop back if you do not want to use them.

 

2 New Full Lounge Chairs with the same attached floppy pillow.

 

One small table - useless except for your drinks or binoculars.

 

These loungers are Nap-Approved by Lou and Myself.  I actually brought my terrier Vera Bradley throw - Driving vs Flying means you bring LOTS more.  I slept out there 2 nights under my throw in Bermuda.

 

 

Balcony Door

 

Its a standard, heavy, sliding balcony door.  I imagine it would be awkward from a wheelchair.

 

There is a permanent metal ramp with non skid going in and out of the balcony door.  The ramp is a comfortable angle.  We found the scooter out on the balcony when we first arrived.

 

Ramp into bathroom is basically the floor under the carpet.  You do not see it walking into the cabin and stumble on it like a drunk the first time.  Good for a laugh.

 

 

You must remember the little Summit is a mature lady.  She does not have automatic doors (door into cabin is 32” wide -comfortable-but heavy and a challenge to negotiate alone.)

 

She has hand rails on one side of the toilet and shower only and just enough space between to back in a wheelchair.

 

It is very comfortable for someone like me who is moderately ambulatory.  I suspect you may miss the whistles and bells of a more modern accessible cabin if limitations are severe.

 

 

You can always call Celebrity.  Jim called a few times to find out what they offer after we arranged my scooter.  We were going to request oxygen, for example but I decided to tough it out.  Once onboard we discovered it was too late when I

could have used it.

 

 

We DID enjoy this cabin a great deal.  It made my trip easier and you could not beat the view from the balcony.

 

Jim DID like the convenience of being one deck below the buffet - eggs Benedict run for me in the morning, for example.

 

Isnt 8164 an Accessible Cabin too?  The extra deck between you and the bar on deck 10 might be a good thing if someone is a gentle sleeper.  

 

I believe  it is Concierge instead of Aqua Class.  That would be a big problem if someone has their heart set on dining in Blu.

 

 

please ask away if you have more questions.

 

👍👍👍👍👍