A couple Summit questions....Shows and Specialty restaurants.

[zdad59]

My gang of 8 is sailing on Summit in February, to the ABCs.    We are staying in Aqua class.     This will be our first time on Celebrity.     We usually sail on Royal Caribbean.    We are used to the bigger ships so the smaller, more intimate Summit is something we are excited about.    I have begun my OCD planning so I have a couple of general questions....

 

SHOWS......I realize that the shows on Summit won't be the big Broadway or even large scale RCL shows, but what can we expect?    In particular what's the timing (early or late?), frequency (is there something every night?) and preparedness (I'm sure there are no reservations but how early show we expect to gt to a show?).      We don't have a dinner seating as Blu will be our regular dinner restaurant.

 

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS.....What specialty restaurants are the best to consider?   We'll eat in Blu or the MDR each night, except for the last night, when we usually go to a specialty restaurant for a "Last Supper" as a group.     Experienced Summit/Celebrity cruiser opinions are appreciated.

 

We are looking to a more intimate and quiet experience, compared to RCL Symphony/Allure/Harmony, which were our last three cruises together.   LOVED them all but are looking forward to this new experience.     Any Summit tips, tricks, expectations are appreciated.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by zdad59

[udamom]

Zdad, Thanks for asking these questions. I was just about to make a similar post. I too am RCI cruiser going on Celebrity in Feb 2020. Wondering many of the same things

Also if an experienced Celebrity cruiser answers can I add another question or two

Reading the Celebrity website it appears you can bring 2 bottles of wine onboard per cabin with no corking fee unless you have it poured in a public area? (we would drink it in our room) This is different from NCL and RCI where you are charged the coarkage fee as you walk on.

Do prices bounce around pre-cruise for the packages (dining and internet) like they do for RCI? I actually hate that and am hoping they are a fixed priced so I don't have to check all the time for what the price is today! 

Is there no promenade deck onboard? I saw somewhere someone posted deck 4 is pseudo promenade but doesn't go around the bow or stern. 

 

Thanks for any answers

 

[Turtles06]

11 hours ago, zdad59 said:

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS.....What specialty restaurants are the best to consider?   We'll eat in Blu or the MDR each night, except for the last night, when we usually go to a specialty restaurant for a "Last Supper" as a group.     Experienced Summit/Celebrity cruiser opinions are appreciated.

 

If you just scan this forum, you'll see that I'm in the midst of my review of our just-completed two weeks on the Summit.  We ate at all the specialty venues, and I've given my thoughts on each.  By the time you sail, Qsine will have been replaced by Le Petit Chef.  Do a search in this forum and you'll find many discussions about this. Only you can decide whether it seems too gimmicky for you.  Or, you might find it a fun thing to do on your last night.  We've never eaten at LPC, so I can't speak from personal experience.  (I would not spend my money on Tuscan Grille any longer.)    (I've posted the link to my review thread below; if you haven't seen it yet, you might find it helpful as you prepare for your cruise.  There are also other threads here in which folks have recently reported live from the Summit; there's been a great deal of interest in her since she was just "revolutionized.") 

 

As for your other questions, the shows in the main theatre are typically at 7 and 9PM, and last about 50 minutes.  The usual mix of production shows (singer and dancers) and guest performers.  We had, as I said in my review, above-average entertainment on our cruise, especially the guest performers.   One odd thing was that people were getting in line for the shows well before the doors open, and on many nights filling the seats very early.   I have not seen that before on Celebrity, and you may not encounter that.  (We would typically go to the 7PM show, then have dinner after.)

 

We've sailed twice on Anthem, and you will definitely have a more "intimate and quiet experience" than you would have on any of RCI's Behemoths of the Seas.  😊   Plenty of places to just sit quietly and enjoy the day.  No announcements over the public address system (except the Captain's daily navigational briefing at 10am). 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Turtles06

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, udamom said:

Zdad, Thanks for asking these questions. I was just about to make a similar post. I too am RCI cruiser going on Celebrity in Feb 2020. Wondering many of the same things

Also if an experienced Celebrity cruiser answers can I add another question or two

Reading the Celebrity website it appears you can bring 2 bottles of wine onboard per cabin with no corking fee unless you have it poured in a public area? (we would drink it in our room) This is different from NCL and RCI where you are charged the coarkage fee as you walk on.

Do prices bounce around pre-cruise for the packages (dining and internet) like they do for RCI? I actually hate that and am hoping they are a fixed priced so I don't have to check all the time for what the price is today! 

Is there no promenade deck onboard? I saw somewhere someone posted deck 4 is pseudo promenade but doesn't go around the bow or stern. 

 

Thanks for any answers

 

 

On Celebrity, upon embarkation, you can bring on, at no charge, two bottles of wine per stateroom.  You will be charged a corkage fee if you bring the bottle to a dining room.   (You can certainly pour yourself a glass of wine in your cabin and walk around the ship with it, including into a dining room.)

 

Celebrity has occasional sales on dining packages, internet packages, shore excursions, etc..  You may get an email about this, or you may not.  So you do need to check your Cruise Planner periodically as well as pay attention to this forum and your Roll Call, as folks will often post when they see a sale.

 

There is no true promenade deck on Celebrity's M- and S-class ships, but Deck 4 on the M-class is pretty close to one, and not obscured by lifeboats as on the newer builds.  Here's my recent photo from the Summit:

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

[George C]

Note that corkage is 25 a bottle, entertainment is not as good as rccl, we did enjoy specialty restaurant Tuscan grill, buffet on summit is way better than rccl . We sailed last year and ship has recently been refurbished. 

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, udamom said:

Zdad, Thanks for asking these questions. I was just about to make a similar post. I too am RCI cruiser going on Celebrity in Feb 2020. Wondering many of the same things

Also if an experienced Celebrity cruiser answers can I add another question or two

Reading the Celebrity website it appears you can bring 2 bottles of wine onboard per cabin with no corking fee unless you have it poured in a public area? (we would drink it in our room) This is different from NCL and RCI where you are charged the coarkage fee as you walk on.

Do prices bounce around pre-cruise for the packages (dining and internet) like they do for RCI? I actually hate that and am hoping they are a fixed priced so I don't have to check all the time for what the price is today! 

Is there no promenade deck onboard? I saw somewhere someone posted deck 4 is pseudo promenade but doesn't go around the bow or stern. 

 

Thanks for any answers

 

Like Celebrity, RC does not charge you a corkage fee when you carry on the ship two 750 ml bottles of wine. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by davekathy

[davekathy]

12 hours ago, zdad59 said:

My gang of 8 is sailing on Summit in February, to the ABCs.    We are staying in Aqua class.     This will be our first time on Celebrity.     We usually sail on Royal Caribbean.    We are used to the bigger ships so the smaller, more intimate Summit is something we are excited about.    I have begun my OCD planning so I have a couple of general questions....

 

SHOWS......I realize that the shows on Summit won't be the big Broadway or even large scale RCL shows, but what can we expect?    In particular what's the timing (early or late?), frequency (is there something every night?) and preparedness (I'm sure there are no reservations but how early show we expect to gt to a show?).      We don't have a dinner seating as Blu will be our regular dinner restaurant.

 

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS.....What specialty restaurants are the best to consider?   We'll eat in Blu or the MDR each night, except for the last night, when we usually go to a specialty restaurant for a "Last Supper" as a group.     Experienced Summit/Celebrity cruiser opinions are appreciated.

 

We are looking to a more intimate and quiet experience, compared to RCL Symphony/Allure/Harmony, which were our last three cruises together.   LOVED them all but are looking forward to this new experience.     Any Summit tips, tricks, expectations are appreciated.

 

 

Check on Celebrity's website after you log in to ensure you C&A number show and also you should see your new Captains Club number. 

[Rominesh]

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

If you just scan this forum, you'll see that I'm in the midst of my review of our just-completed two weeks on the Summit.  We ate at all the specialty venues, and I've given my thoughts on each.  By the time you sail, Qsine will have been replaced by Le Petit Chef.  Do a search in this forum and you'll find many discussions about this. Only you can decide whether it seems too gimmicky for you.  Or, you might find it a fun thing to do on your last night.  We've never eaten at LPC, so I can't speak from personal experience.  (I would not spend my money on Tuscan Grille any longer.)    (I've posted the link to my review thread below; if you haven't seen it yet, you might find it helpful as you prepare for your cruise.  There are also other threads here in which folks have recently reported live from the Summit; there's been a great deal of interest in her since she was just "revolutionized.") 

 

 

I've been following your review thread with great interest, as we're going on the Summit in May for NE/Canada. I don't think I've seen your review of Tuscan yet, but I'm curious as to the cause of your dissatisfaction. We had our very first cruise earlier this year, on Equinox, and I found the Tuscan there to be excellent, and was looking forward to it on Summit. Would you mind elaborating a bit?

[Rominesh]

Edit: Apologies, I DID miss your write up of Tuscan in your thread -I've read it and understand now. I am curious if you've been to other Tuscans on the fleet and how you would compare them.

[George C]

One thing on Tuscan is on S class ships view is amazing and there is no view on M class ships 

[Hatteras51]

We love Tuscan, and have dined there on several ships. We especially love their steaks. I just had their lasagna for the first time a few weeks ago on Summit, and it was delicious.  My favorite dish on Tuscan is the carbonara. We try to dine there several times, each cruise. 

[Turtles06]

19 minutes ago, Rominesh said:

Edit: Apologies, I DID miss your write up of Tuscan in your thread -I've read it and understand now. I am curious if you've been to other Tuscans on the fleet and how you would compare them.

 

We first dined at Tuscan on the Silhouette back in 2014. It was a fabulous meal -- food and service -- probably our best meal of the cruise.  So we were excited to have dinner there again last year when we were back on the Silhouette.  What a change.  Both the service and the food were mediocre.  Slow, inattentive service, and food that just was not good.  The pasta in particular, which should be great there, was totally forgettable.  We had a specialty dining package and had planned to eat at Tuscan at least twice, but we did not eat there again.   (The MDR food on the Silhouette on that same cruise was fabulous.)

 

Two weeks ago, on the Summit, we gave it another try.  This time the service was good, but the food, as a I said in my review, was uneven.  The gnocchi were totally dry and overcooked.   My wife said her lasagna was tasty.   I know that some folks still like Tuscan, but if you do a search in this forum, you'll find others who have concluded, as we have, that it's just too iffy.

 

And, btw, my feelings about Tuscan have nothing to do with the view or not.  (In fact, we generally eat when it's dark out.)

 

Food is subjective, service changes, who knows what you may encounter.  I hope you have a great cruise!

[George C]

I totally love the antipasto in Tuscan I could make a meal from that and some good wine. 

[zdad59]

6 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

If you just scan this forum, you'll see that I'm in the midst of my review of our just-completed two weeks on the Summit.  We ate at all the specialty venues, and I've given my thoughts on each.  By the time you sail, Qsine will have been replaced by Le Petit Chef.  Do a search in this forum and you'll find many discussions about this. Only you can decide whether it seems too gimmicky for you.  Or, you might find it a fun thing to do on your last night.  We've never eaten at LPC, so I can't speak from personal experience.  (I would not spend my money on Tuscan Grille any longer.)    (I've posted the link to my review thread below; if you haven't seen it yet, you might find it helpful as you prepare for your cruise.  There are also other threads here in which folks have recently reported live from the Summit; there's been a great deal of interest in her since she was just "revolutionized.") 

 

As for your other questions, the shows in the main theatre are typically at 7 and 9PM, and last about 50 minutes.  The usual mix of production shows (singer and dancers) and guest performers.  We had, as I said in my review, above-average entertainment on our cruise, especially the guest performers.   One odd thing was that people were getting in line for the shows well before the doors open, and on many nights filling the seats very early.   I have not seen that before on Celebrity, and you may not encounter that.  (We would typically go to the 7PM show, then have dinner after.)

 

We've sailed twice on Anthem, and you will definitely have a more "intimate and quiet experience" than you would have on any of RCI's Behemoths of the Seas.  😊   Plenty of places to just sit quietly and enjoy the day.  No announcements over the public address system (except the Captain's daily navigational briefing at 10am). 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

Thanks for such detailed input.    Helps a lot.     Your trip report is very good as well.