SUMMIT - General Discussion

[Alaskan Traveler]

Thank you, everyone - what a wealth of info....

 

Does anyone take a limo from LAX to Long Beach? Can you recommend a limo company? I have looked at a couple but would like to hear from someone with experience.

 

We are arriving a few days early and want to go to Rodeo Drive too. I want to use a limo for that.

 

Any recommendtions?

 

Hi spalady,

 

Just a suggestion, but if you interested in driving the last time we were in LAX we rented a car and drove around for a few days. The weekend rate was less than $20 per day. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is about an hour and a half drive from LA and was a fantastic experience.

[CPADWJ]

How are the evening shows integrated with the early and late seating on the Summit? I have read varying reports that late seating see the shows either before or after dining, and early seating always see the shows after dining.

Also, on 14 days cruises which nights are the formal nights on the Summit?

[Lois R]

How are the evening shows integrated with the early and late seating on the Summit? I have read varying reports that late seating see the shows either before or after dining, and early seating always see the shows after dining.

Also, on 14 days cruises which nights are the formal nights on the Summit?

 

Hi,:) I know this is probably not the reply you want to hear, but

the show times seem to vary cruise to cruise.

I always have late seating for dinner and I know on my sailings

there have been many shows before dinner while other times

they have been after dinner......example, 7:00pm show for late

dinner...or 11:00pm show.

So it really does vary.

[fti]

I have heard that the food in the main dining room is not as good since

Chef Roux departed Celebrity. Since you have been on the Summit before and also recently, did you notice any change? Thanks

 

Sorry if I misled you - I have only been on the Summit once (last month). The food in the main dining room was very good. The only complaint I had was that my beef tenderloin one night was rare - very rare - and not medium as requested. Not a big thing and I could have sent it back but was not worth the hassle.

 

Good variety, hot things were hot (even soups which often can be served lukewarm). One suggestion I would have for Celebrity might be to add a few more vegetables to the entree plate. They seemed more like a garnish than a side of vegetables. But that is not a big thing. And I know I could have asked for more if I wanted to.

[atb]

Our favorite hangout is the COVA Bar, they usually have a piano player - or 1 man entertainment - what do they have on Summitt - thanks.

[KikiKruiser]

Good variety, hot things were hot (even soups which often can be served lukewarm). One suggestion I would have for Celebrity might be to add a few more vegetables to the entree plate. They seemed more like a garnish than a side of vegetables. But that is not a big thing. And I know I could have asked for more if I wanted to.

 

Funny you should mention this - we are veggie hogs and you are right, they never serve enough with the entrees. We always ask for a big plate of extra veggies (after the first time, the wonderful servers bring it automatically:) . And if you don't like the veggies served with the entree they happily substitute for your preferred ones :) :) One time we were dining in the dining room for lunch; our dinner server was working the other side of the dining room but spotted us, and personally came over to deliver a big plate of veggies himself (without prompting) - talk about SERVICE!!!:D

[CatServants]

How are the evening shows integrated with the early and late seating on the Summit? I have read varying reports that late seating see the shows either before or after dining, and early seating always see the shows after dining.

Also, on 14 days cruises which nights are the formal nights on the Summit?

 

 

 

Lois R already gave you the answer about the shows - I'll try to give you info regarding the formal nites. The formal nites are (almost always) "sea nites". Look at your itinerary, you'll see some days listed as "at sea" or "cruising" - those will be the formal nites. A 14 nite cruise usually has 3 formal nites.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Denise

[shofer]

We have done Summit 2x to Hawaii and it remains my favorite ship, from the security guard welcoming you back w/"happy, happy" to the young man greeting you at the buffet w/"welcome back, madam & sir" to the exceptional service all over the ship. I too, was intrigued by the sequined heads on the stairwells and found them to be my favorite of all the art aboard the ship.

 

The Normandie is still my favorite dining experience on any ship and most of the land. The best pickles I ever tasted were out by the grill and their french fries were very good. DH is still talking about the pretzel roll they had by the sandwiches. One day they had a Cuban sandwich as the daily special. Since we usually eat a late breakfast, lunch is often skipped in favor of a small snack @ afternoon tea. On this last cruise, I was skipping breakfast so I could get one of their great sandwiches or some pasta.

 

They still had the Cirque du Soleil experience on board for our January, 2006 cruise and it was just ok. Having seen full blown Cirque shows in Las Vegas, it was not up to snuff. There was an acrobatic couple who were excellent and the ventriloquist was pretty funny. I would say the best performer was Pearl Kaufman the pianist. She had real talent and some great stories about the Hollywood heyday of the 50's & 60's. We had to endure the "dulcimer guy" again after seeing him on our Alaska cruise.

 

We are the kind of people who enjoy seeing a show after dinner as part of our evening entertainment. I am not a big drinker so don't spend a lot of time in the various bars.

 

After reading this thread, I want to get on Summit again. Unfortunately, Celebrity does not offer a Western Caribbean cruise in the winter so we are taking our adult "kids" and their spouses on their first cruise on Princess this coming February.

 

You will love Summit and you will be so spoiled for any other cruiseline too.

[CPADWJ]

Our favorite hangout is the COVA Bar, they usually have a piano player - or 1 man entertainment - what do they have on Summitt - thanks.

On the current Hawaii sailing there is a great acoustic guitar / singer by the name of Jefferson who sings the songs of John Denver and James Taylor.

We really enjoyed listening to him. One night the cruise director Allen King played piano and sang some songs. He is also a good entertainer as well as cruise director.:)

[Allis154]

I just got off the Summit on Friday, after fours weeks on her. Here are some of my generalizations:

 

Food: We ate at the Waterfall Cafe, room service, main dining room, Normandie, cova cafe and the Waterfall Grill. Food was generally good, some more outstanding than others. After the first two weeks, we had a new exectutive chef. I don't know if he changed (to some degree) how things were made, but after that time, food became really salty, to the point of being uneatable in the dinning room. Also, stay away from all the beef, except for the prime rib. Those at our table for 9 sent it back nearly all the time because it was so tough.

 

Decor: Not a new ship. Not in bad shape really. Beaware that several of the carpet seams by the theatre are loose, posing a trip hazard. I saw several people tripping on these. In general, soft goods were in decent shape.

 

Service: really hit or miss. Dinning staff were fabulous. Marco, our sommilier during the first two weeks was superb. Never saw the one assigned to us the next two weeks. Bar staff was "luck of the draw". Putu, the Martini Bar bartender was great. He made me lots of different Martinis, even ones that weren't on the 'menu'. The other servers in the Martini Bar were also good. Other bar service was generally lousy. We waited 1.5 hours in the rendez-vous for service and still didn't get anybody's attention. Captains Club Cocktail party? What service? Theatre? If you think you are going to be thirsty, bring it yourself, because service there is non-existant. Bar at the Edge of the Earth, service was simply rude. Cova Cafe bar service was decent and quick. The bar staff in the dinning room was great, expectially Waynan.

 

Entertainment: First two weeks, never went to anything. Last two weeks, nearly every show. Celebrity Singers and Dancers are good. Aerialists were fabulous. Milos was the naturalist on board. Good and entertaining. Very approachable and knowledgable. Paki was on the the last two weeks as well. Also good and knowledgeable, but not always up to date in his info. Better check for yourself on lava status as his info is pre Father's day eruption. Guest entertainers were all good. The Voice Males, Top Notch and Guys and Doll were great. Sound equipment less than great.

 

Overall, even with service issues, we greatly enjoyed our trip. I heard that the Captain will be leaving after the current cruise (ends on Oct 26). Alaska was fabulous, wet and cold. Hawaii was incredible, hot and wet.

 

If you have any questions, post and I'll try to answer. Once things get a little more sorted out, I'll post a review.

[sasset]

Has the Bar at the Edge been restored to its pre-Cirque decor?

 

Regards

[Allis154]

Has the Bar at the Edge been restored to its pre-Cirque decor?

 

Regards

 

No, most of it still looks the Crique decor. the beds are gone, though, from what I saw.

[jojun24]

I have heard that the food in the main dining room is not as good since

Chef Roux departed Celebrity. Since you have been on the Summit before and also recently, did you notice any change? Thanks

 

My expectation going on the 9/28/07 Summit cruise to Hawaii was that the food quality would be lower. This was not the case. I found the food in the main dining room to be better than what we had on the Infinity in 2006.

[newyork4me]

Kitty9:

Iam new to the summit too. I have reservation for the Norandie for our anniversary. Can you explain the wine pairing is this a separate package. Do they have others. :)

[shofer]

You can choose at the time you arrive whether you want the "basic" dinner @ $30/pp or the wine-pairing which is ~$57/pp and includes selected wines of about 4-oz each with each course. We have't done this yet but have decided that we are going to tr it the next time.