Summit REVIEW - July 22 sailing -

[nycglitter]

Hello Cruise Critic friends!

 

I wanted to post a review of our experience on the Celebrity Summit while it is all still fresh in my mind! I hope you find the information useful. I am happy to answer any questions and I apologize in advance for the length of this review, but I want to be as thorough as possible.

 

Just a brief background before I begin. My husband I love land vacations, but love to cruise even more. Prior to this with Celebrity, we had sailed with Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Princess, and currently having a March sailing planned with RCCL.

 

PRE-CRUISE

 

We booked our cruise and air as a package with a travel agency, with the only benefit being that they pre-paid our gratuities. We chose a 1-night pre-cruise stay in Barcelona, with transfers and chose the Condes de Barcelona as our hotel. As I recall, this hotel was the most cost effective and I was hoping we made the correct choice as I couldn’t find as much info or reviews on the hotel prior to the trip as I would have liked. Our fight to Barcelona was with British Airways coach class out of JFK and could not have gone smoother. Flight was on time leaving JFK (small miracle) and made it to Health Row for a connection with plenty of time (one hour between flights) and on to Barcelona. We were met at the gate by a Celebrity representative and within minutes put in a private van and whisked away to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel within about 25 minutes and were greeted at the van by another Celebrity rep. We checked in around 1pm (2 hours earlier then the hotel guidelines) with no problem. They gave us a beautiful room with a balcony overlooking the gorgeous Passage de Gracia. The hotel is a restored mansion and blew me away. Gorgeous! We stayed in the original part of the hotel (newer section across the street) and did so intentionally to experience the charm. The room was quite large with a modern and beautiful bathroom with Bvlgari toiletries. The location of the hotel was perfect. We walked all over the city and found the location to be very central. The hotel staff was friendly and spoke English. We enjoyed a complimentary continental breakfast the following morning and were blown away by how lovely it was.

 

BARCELONA

 

I was both excited and anxious about Barcelona from reading so much about it on the Europe threads. We were mindful of our money, left our passports in the hotel safe and never had a problem with the dreaded pickpockets. We found the city to be very warm and friendly. The locals were very kind about our limited ability to speak Spanish and seemed grateful that we at least attempted a few words. We were anxious to see Gaudi’s famous Casa Batllo and Casa Mila. Casa Batllo was practically across the street from us and was really a spectacular find for 12 Euro a person. We strolled down Las Ramblas and were amazed by the shear amounts of people, vendors and street performers. It was so much fun. We veered off Las Ramblas and headed to the Gothic Quarter to do some exploring. We found an establishment called “My Bar” and stopped in to rest and have a drink. I was happily surprised to find that they served a very affordable and yummy house Cava for 2 Euro a glass. My husband had the local beer for the same amount of money. The patrons and staff were a ton of fun and we enjoyed our brief visit. We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering before finding a restaurant (name escapes me) off the beaten path and enjoyed some Paella and tapas, all very tasty. We were exhausted by this point and decided to call it a night. The next morning, we ate breakfast and headed off on foot to see La Sagrada Familia. It was an amazing sight, not to be missed. We did not take the time to climb the spires, but took plenty of photos of the outside! Beautiful!

We went back to the hotel to gather our luggage and wait for the shuttle to the ship. The shuttle was right on time and took us along with several other passengers to the cruise terminal. Our check-in was very fast (10 minutes at the most) we had filled out all of the pre-registration at home and simply had to show them our ID’s and have them swipe our credit card for our shipboard account.

 

 

SUMMIT

 

We were anxious to see the Summit for ourselves having read so much about her condition, age and recent dry dock refurbishment. We found her to be in tip-top shape. We saw virtually no signs of wear. Certainly no more wear than any other ship that we have sailed on. We were impressed by the elegance of the ship and impressed that we were greeted with a glass of champagne to toast our voyage with. We were not lead to our cabin as others have mentioned, which was just fine with us. We were on board very early and did notice the staff guiding others later on as the ship got busier.

 

Our cabin was Concierge Class #6143. It was surrounded by suites on deck 6 and had a very large veranda. We were happy to find 2 chase loungers as we had read that they were no longer allowed on the verandas due to winds. This was not the case. Along with the loungers, there was a large table for dining al fresco and 2 chairs with a smaller cocktail table. Very spacious. The cabin was in great shape and while the bathroom was small, there were plenty of under the counter cabinets in which to keep toiletries.

 

The cabin did not have as much closet and drawer space as I would have liked, but we managed with the help of a few extra hangers for the closet and utilizing every nook and cranny! Our room attendant was named Prezar and he was amazing. Very sweet and attentive. He must have been sleeping under our bed because if we requested anything, he was at our door before we hung up the phone! This itinerary is very port intensive so we chose to have breakfast on our veranda most mornings and found the call to announce the delivery perfect as our wake-up call. The breakfasts were delicious and were always served hot. We tried everything by the end of the cruise and even made special requests that were always granted without question.

 

We had read the many threads about whether or not the concierge class cabins were worth the cost and were anxious to decide for ourselves. In the end we decided for us, it was worth the additional cost. The cabin was slightly larger which was great, but the fruit , bedding, towels, robes, shower head, personalized attention and yes – even the debated canapés (not nearly as bad as many have described) were all really special. Most importantly we found the priority tenders to be very helpful. We wanted to maximize our time in port as much as possible and this worked like a charm. I do have to say that disembarking in port was probably the smoothest I have ever seen. You could walk straight off the ship first thing in the morning with no wait, something that has never happened to us on other ships.

 

EXCURSIONS

 

We did several ShoreEx excursions and found them to be very organized and well run. I feared feeling like cattle or not seeing everything I had hoped to see. We found quite the opposite to be true. We always had clean, large motor coaches with experienced and curtious drivers. Our guides were of course fluent in their native language, but in English as well. Their knowledge of their country combined with their obvious pride was appreciated.

 

We did ship organized tours in Villefranche, Naples, Santorini, Athens. We did a full day tour with Romeinlimo in Rome with Marco (amazing), met up with Italian relatives in Livorno for a day in Pisa (couldn’t make it to Florence to a major accident that tied up traffic, but we have been there before), and wandered Dubrovnik and Venice on our own with great success.

 

Rather then bore you with specifics on each port, I will leave the summary at that,. If you have any additional questions feel free to ask.

 

 

DISEMBARKATION

 

If there was a disappointment with this trip, this would be the area. While everything was quite organized, we were told to be in the Theatre no later then 6:25am. Our flight was at 11:15am out of Venice, connecting in Rome and then on to JFK with Alitalia. This automatically made for the start to a very long day. Collecting our luggage was quite easy and only took a few minutes and then it was on to the airport. We were told that we would have to wait 2 hours to check in then another 2 hours until the flight. I would have preferred to stay on the ship. I realize they need to start the process of turning over the cabins, but we would have been happy to vacate the cabin, have breakfast, then leave for the airport. We would have had plenty of time. In the end, it all worked out fine and we made it home, safe and sound. We were sad to leave the ship and this magical vacation, but felt rested and satisfied with the experience as a whole.

 

ADDITIONAL INFO

 

We renewed our vows on the ship with the Captain and it was a beautiful and moving experience. We organized this with the help of an outside company that Celebrity uses called The Wedding Experience.

 

We were invited to tour the bridge and dine at the Captains table. Both unforgettable experiences.

 

The food on Celebrity was the best we have ever had on any cruise ship. We tried all of the Cruise Critic recommended favorites. The almond croissants and the brioche bread from the Cova Café, the waffles on the buffet, the wine flights at Cova, and the Champagne and Martini flights in the Champagne and Martini Bar. All amazing!

 

We ate at the Normandy the night we were in Athens (choosing to skip the Flava of the Med buffet) and loved the experience! The food was amazing and the staff was fabulous. We did change into white after dinner and join the Flava party in progress and danced the night away with our fellow passengers.

 

We met many new friends, staff included and are looking forward to our next Celebrity adventure yet to be planned! The ports were way more beautiful then I had hoped for (well, except Athens) and this vacation was like something out of a fairytale. I am still pinching myself to remember it was real!

 

I hope this was not too boring and long. Thanks to all the Cruise Critic folks who have posted previous reviews that helped our planning go so smoothly!

 

Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions! I will answer them if I can! We will have pictures soon. I took over 1400 of them, so deciding on which ones to post and getting them uploaded will take some time!

[KIndercrisp]

We were on the cruise prior to yours and I couldn't agree with you more. It was truly a trip of a lifetime. The food was amazing and we found the crew to be exceptionally friendly. We have already booked a Feb. sailing on the Solstice and found out that several of the Summit crew are moving to the Solstice so we look forward to meeting up with them again.

[Ardy53]

Hi

 

Thanks for your review !!!

 

We are sailing on Summit in less than 3 weeks and so are keen to hear all that is said about the ship and the cruise.

 

A few things that we would love you to elaborate on are the food - did you eat in the dining room each night except for the one night in Normandy (was it worth it?)

 

Also, seeing that you breached the date for the new dress code, what was your experience in this regard, both at dinner and throughout the ship.

 

I would also like to hear more about the accident that upset Florence plans - did it affect the ship tours? What about people that were doing it on their own?

 

You also didn't mention anything about entertainment on board - was it good? did you go to the shows?

 

We love hearing everything about this cruise and promise that we will also post a review when we are done.

 

Thanks

 

Roy & Val

[FinelyCruising]

Well what a nice time it sounds like you had. Good for you and let us know when the snaps are up for viewing.

 

Congratulations on renewing your vows while on board. It sounds like it was quite a special cruise.:)

[keela1eva2]

Thanks for your review on the ship in particular. I have been on Summit but when she was a brand new ship.

Glad to hear that she is in good shape. I always keep an open mind and before I cruised on Galaxy there were so many bad reports about the state of the ship. I found her a delightful ship but she was a few years old but in much better shape that I was led to believe.

 

Ardy

 

Having eaten in the Speciality Restaurant on all the X ships I have sailed on I would recommend it. At $30 it is worth doing it as least once. I probably won't do it this cruise but who knows I may well change my mind as I am travelling with a friend. Have never done it alone.

The food is fantastic and the service perfect! I would book it on the first day as it does get booked up. Also I would recommend not doing it on the Gala nights. Captain's welcome aboard 1st formal night then the Gala another Formal night as is the Captain's farewell night. On these nights the menu in the dining room is at its best.

 

Sue

[nycglitter]

We were on the cruise prior to yours and I couldn't agree with you more. It was truly a trip of a lifetime. The food was amazing and we found the crew to be exceptionally friendly. We have already booked a Feb. sailing on the Solstice and found out that several of the Summit crew are moving to the Solstice so we look forward to meeting up with them again.

 

We are giving some thought to doing the same thing. We fell in love with the crew, they really made our trip special! The Solstice looks really beautiful, shouldn't be a tough decision for us!

 

Hi

 

Thanks for your review !!!

 

We are sailing on Summit in less than 3 weeks and so are keen to hear all that is said about the ship and the cruise.

 

A few things that we would love you to elaborate on are the food - did you eat in the dining room each night except for the one night in Normandy (was it worth it?) We ate in the dining room everynight except 2. The Normandy for one night - SO worth it. Very fun, great food, exceptional service and overall a real treat. The other night we were exhausted and ordered room service off the dining room menu. Also very good and delivered hot. The dining room food always has several choices and overall we felt that the fish and the beef were always good choices. I would say if I had to skip one dish on the ship it would be the pasta, be even that wasn't horrible.

 

Also, seeing that you breached the date for the new dress code, what was your experience in this regard, both at dinner and throughout the ship. We love formal night and were happy to dress up for all three of them, but we also understand that packing for the formal night can be a hassle. I have to say that many people did NOT adhere to the guidelines. I was shocked to see people without so much as a tie on formal night. On the casual nights there were people in shorts. What can you do? I say try and stick to the guidelines, but don't feel too pressured as many passengers make up their own rules.

 

I would also like to hear more about the accident that upset Florence plans - did it affect the ship tours? What about people that were doing it on their own? I don't know what the accident entailed, only that it caused a 2 - 3 hour backup. I did not speak to anyone who had an excursion planned for Florence, so I really can't answer your question. I would imagine it did alter some of the excursions, or cause less time in Florence. Not surprised, the drivers in Europe are crazy!:eek:

 

You also didn't mention anything about entertainment on board - was it good? did you go to the shows? We did go to a couple of the shows featuring the celebrity singers and dancers. They were OK. They helped pass the time before dinner. I have to say however that we are spoiled. We live an hour outside of NYC and see Broadway shows quite frequently. You should definately check one out for yourself and decide. We also saw a performer who did classic cabaret style songs and did not care for him too much. He was cheesy. Tried to watch a magician, but I was able to figure out the tricks before he completed them, so as you can imagine, he must have been using a children's magic kit! :D

 

We love hearing everything about this cruise and promise that we will also post a review when we are done.

 

Enjoy your cruise, you will love it!

 

Thanks

 

Roy & Val

 

Well what a nice time it sounds like you had. Good for you and let us know when the snaps are up for viewing.

 

Congratulations on renewing your vows while on board. It sounds like it was quite a special cruise.:)

 

Thank you! Yes, it was very special and unfortunately words just don't do it justice!

[Lois R]

Hi, great review:) ....glad you both had such a wonderful

time:D

One of these days I hope to do Europe.....after reading

about your trip I will have to do some serious research....

maybe 2010.

[Texed]

Hello Cruise Critic friends!

The food on Celebrity was the best we have ever had on any cruise ship. the waffles amazing!

 

Agreed! :D

[Travelalot2]

We will be on the Summit next June. Just curious which shore excursions you took. We usually book ours on our own but this time am considering doing a few through the ship.

 

Thanks for posting your review. It was very informative. We cruised the med a couple of years ago on RCCL and loved it, which is why we are going again (but this time with our 17 year-old and on X for something different). I agree.... words can't describe the experience.

[Travelalot2]

We will be on the Summit next June. Just curious which shore excursions you took. We usually book ours on our own but this time am considering doing a few through the ship.

 

Thanks for posting your review. It was very informative. We cruised the med a couple of years ago on RCCL and loved it, which is why we are going again (but this time with our 17 year-old and on X for something different). I agree.... words can't describe the experience.

[Travelalot2]

We will be on the Summit next June. Just curious which shore excursions you took. We usually book ours on our own but this time am considering doing a few through the ship.

 

Thanks for posting your review. It was very informative. We cruised the med a couple of years ago on RCCL and loved it, which is why we are going again (but this time with our 17 year-old and on X for something different). I agree.... words can't describe the experience.

[arlenez]

Hi Marit:

 

I found your review all by myself and loved reading it. It was so informative and interesting. Congratulations to you and your DH on the renewal of your vows. I can't believe I still have 9 more months to go until my Med cruise, but hopefully, the time will go fast.

 

I'll catch you on the radio.

 

Warm regards,

Arlene

[nycglitter]

We will be on the Summit next June. Just curious which shore excursions you took. We usually book ours on our own but this time am considering doing a few through the ship.

 

Thanks for posting your review. It was very informative. We cruised the med a couple of years ago on RCCL and loved it, which is why we are going again (but this time with our 17 year-old and on X for something different). I agree.... words can't describe the experience.

 

We did ships tours for:

Nice, Eze & Monaco

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast (from Naples)

Pyragos Village with Mesas and Wine (Santorini)

Ancient Greece and the Plaka (Athens)

 

Enjoy your trip, but warn your 17 year old that there will be very few teens and the ship is pretty sedate in terms of nightlife!

[nycglitter]

Hi Marit:

 

I found your review all by myself and loved reading it. It was so informative and interesting. Congratulations to you and your DH on the renewal of your vows. I can't believe I still have 9 more months to go until my Med cruise, but hopefully, the time will go fast.

 

I'll catch you on the radio.

 

Warm regards,

Arlene

 

Hey Arlene,

 

Glad you found it! My husband and I really thought this was a romantic cruise and it was very special to us.

 

Your time will go by quickly, especially when you start planning the excursions!

 

Enjoy!

 

Marit

[Longboysfan]

Great review thank you for taking the time. I am sure some would love this information over in the regular cruise review area.

The Barcelona walk tour would interest a lot of people.

[SGilly]

Thank you for your informative review! Congrats on you vow renewal...that's SO romantic!! :D We'll be in cabin 6135 on the Summit next week...I'm so glad to hear about the chaise lounges on the veranda, I assume Prezar will be our cabin attendant as well, glad that he was so amazing....

 

You said that storage was hard to find in the cabin-is there a place for luggage? Are there enough places to plug phone chargers, hair dryers, etc? Would you recommend bringing a travel clock? Did you bring a laptop? Is there anything that you left at home that you wish you brought?

 

We arrive in Barcelona very early from our flight from JFK, we're hoping to drop our luggage off at the ship, maybe check in and then head out for the day to see Barcelona. Is the port close enough to the sights to be able to do that?

 

I'm sure I'll have many more questions over the next few days-I hope it's ok if I keep posting them!

Terri

[rebeljohn]

Enjoyed your review............Thanks for posting it............

[our turn]

nycglitter,

 

Wonderful to hear that you had such a fantastic cruise! I can't wait to see your pictures, especially of the vow renewal.

 

Kim

[jajuandbachi]

Very informative. Thanks! We are going on this cruise on 9-8. Reading your comments have made me even more anxious.

 

We are thinking about eating at the Normandy after reading so many wonderul things about it. Is it necessary to book before you are even on the ship or can you book when you're on board? What days were formal nights? Were they on sea days? If we have to book ahead, it would be great to know about the formal nights, so we won't book on that night.

 

Also, about tours...we have some booked thru Celebrity, but we also are doing three private tours. One in Rome, Naples and Athens. They all are from recommendations from CC. My question: is there any concern about not making it back to the ship on time? Did you hear of this happening to anyone?

 

Janice

[nycglitter]

nycglitter,

 

Wonderful to hear that you had such a fantastic cruise! I can't wait to see your pictures, especially of the vow renewal.

 

Kim

 

Thanks Kim! They are coming soon!

 

Very informative. Thanks! We are going on this cruise on 9-8. Reading your comments have made me even more anxious.

 

We are thinking about eating at the Normandy after reading so many wonderul things about it. Is it necessary to book before you are even on the ship or can you book when you're on board? What days were formal nights? Were they on sea days? If we have to book ahead, it would be great to know about the formal nights, so we won't book on that night.

 

We did book at the Normandy ahead of the cruise, however, once on board we found out that had space each night, so no worries. Formal nights were the sea days (perfect for getting ready!). We book our night at the Normandy after spending the day in Athens. We were not really interested in the Flava poolside buffet.

 

Also, about tours...we have some booked thru Celebrity, but we also are doing three private tours. One in Rome, Naples and Athens. They all are from recommendations from CC. My question: is there any concern about not making it back to the ship on time? Did you hear of this happening to anyone?

 

I never heard that it was a problem, and the tour folks are very aware of the time schedule and do a great job of making sure everyone is back on time. Just a side note, you may want to consider saving some money and skipping the private tour in Athens. This was our most disappointing port. The highlight was the Plaka. Just a thought.

Have a great trip!

 

Janice

[nycglitter]

To cover one more thing... I had read that Celebrity did not have very many children on most sailings. Our sailing had over 400 kids! Just an FYI in case you were wondering.

[Nora4sure]

Yes...it needs to be noted that according to John Howell our cruise director....when we visited the helipad one day toward the beginning of the cruise we noted to the crew that there were more children than we thought would be on a cruise of this length and itinerary. He(and other crew) mentioned that there were 453 children on the cruise, higher than any that they had seen in a while.

 

I observed that many older children/teens were american but many younger children/families were from other countries. Would you agree NYC?

 

Our group felt that there were too many children for our liking. Few swam in the kiddie pool and took over the other pool. Also we saw children in the disco at night and at other show venues.

 

I dont dislike kids, but i would have liked a few less. It was obvious there were lots of kids.

 

Nora

[eloralil]

Thank you for posting this review. We are going on the Sept. 20th cruise as our first cruise and are quite anxious about excursions, etc.

 

Lilianne

[nycglitter]

Thank you for posting this review. We are going on the Sept. 20th cruise as our first cruise and are quite anxious about excursions, etc.

 

Lilianne

 

 

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any specific quesions. I spent a year planning this trip and feel like I have a pretty good handle on things!

[jajuandbachi]

nycglitter, Thanks for your reply and answering my questions. Another question: Did the ladies dress really formally (I mean like long formal dresses) I hope, I hope, on formal nights.

 

Thanks.

 

Janice