Summit REVIEW - July 22 sailing -

[highworth]

Hi..thanks for all the great information. We are on the Summit in a couple of months. Could you expande a bit on your Rome excursion with Marco...what was your itinery, price etc.etc.

Many thanks for your help.

Pat

[Cruiser Nonna]

Thank you for your review and for shaing your information - we will be on the Summit soon and I do have a few questions regarding the ship -

 

1. There was another post as to the fact that in the dining room - shrimp and steak have ben removed from the "anytime" portion of the menu - did you find this true?

 

2. Casino - we used to be able to get cash in the casino charged to our onboard account and thus no 3% fee - is that still being allowed?

 

3. I was on the Summit last summer and they still had the remnants in the nightclub I believe of all the white sheeting from Cirque - is that there or hopefully has been removed?

 

4. We are going to go into Rome on the tour bus "Rome on your Own" since we have been before - did you hear any feedback from others on this - always hesitate to book a ship tour like this since often they make stops at "their stores" and then drop you off with little time for your own plans.

 

Thank you so much for taking the ime to answer!!!

[bermudabob]

We were on the Summit this summer June 28 - July 10.

 

1. There was another post as to the fact that in the dining room - shrimp and steak have ben removed from the "anytime" portion of the menu - did you find this true? My daughter had Shrimp Cocktail every night and the steak was always available as well.

 

2. Casino - we used to be able to get cash in the casino charged to our onboard account and thus no 3% fee - is that still being allowed?

They now add the fee for cash advances

3. I was on the Summit last summer and they still had the remnants in the nightclub I believe of all the white sheeting from Cirque - is that there or hopefully has been removed? White sheeting has been removed.

 

4. We are going to go into Rome on the tour bus "Rome on your Own" since we have been before - did you hear any feedback from others on this - always hesitate to book a ship tour like this since often they make stops at "their stores" and then drop you off with little time for your own plans. We did a fabulous private tour with 3 others we met on our roll call and we were able to "tailor" the itinerary to our likes.

Have a great cruise.

[WineDown17]

NYC- Thanks for this review- We are doing this same trip 5/09 and was hoping to get a few additional details:

 

Tours; Which ones did you do specifically? Was it the 2 of you alone(i think it was) or did you have any children with you?

 

Vow Renewal: WOuld love to hear some details. We were married on Summit in 2002, and what a neat idea to renew vows.. (we are even staying in the same suite..) My inlaws are joining us too, and it is their 50th anniversary, so maybe something they may wish to do as well.

 

Athens: Would love to hear about the bad parts so we can avoid!

 

JFK: How many hours before your flight did you arrive? Did you take a limo or drive? We are thinking of doing a limo and that it will be cost neutral to taking 2 cars to JFK and parking them for 14 days

 

Hotel: Did you get to select that hotel via X or did they assign it?

 

Thanks for all your help!

[nycglitter]

Here is a link to a photo that our cabin steward took of us...

(hope this works!)

 

http://thumb14.webshots.net/t/65/765/8/65/84/2920865840071376454nRetjL_th.jpg

[nycglitter]

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

 

Janice -

 

There were LOTS of women in full length gowns, me included every formal night. I loved getting dressed up and seeing my DH look so very handsome!

 

 

Hi..thanks for all the great information. We are on the Summit in a couple of months. Could you expande a bit on your Rome excursion with Marco...what was your itinery, price etc.etc.

Many thanks for your help.

Pat

 

Pat -

 

The excursion cost $450 Euro for the entire day. We were picked up right outside the ship and dropped off right next to the gangway. It could not have been more perfect. Marco is from Rome and knew his way around the city very well. He took us to some of his favorite places and also those that we had requested. We saw things that my in-laws (who are from Italy) have never seen. It was expensive for the two of us, but one of our favorite port days for sure! Among other things we saw Circus Maximus, the Roman Forum, Palentine Hill, the Colessium, toured the Catacombs, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Spanish steps, Vatican City and sooooo much more!

 

NYC- Thanks for this review- We are doing this same trip 5/09 and was hoping to get a few additional details:

 

Tours; Which ones did you do specifically? Was it the 2 of you alone(i think it was) or did you have any children with you?

 

We did the tours alone, kids stayed home with grandma. We did ship tours in Naples (Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast - so beautiful, great lunch included, very nice day); Nice (Nice, Eze, Monaco - Really nice day, saw many beautiful sights and had a nice lunch in Eze); Santorini (Pyragos village with Mesas and wine); and Athens

 

Vow Renewal: WOuld love to hear some details. We were married on Summit in 2002, and what a neat idea to renew vows.. (we are even staying in the same suite..) My inlaws are joining us too, and it is their 50th anniversary, so maybe something they may wish to do as well.

 

We set everything up with the company that Celebrity recommended. They basically had us fill out some forms, then contacted us closer to the time of our trip to ask more specific questions about the cake and other details. On the ship we were contacted by an event coordinator to take care of flower choice, location of ceremony, decor and reception. Since it was the two of us the cake and champagne were delivered to our room. We were given the suite menu for room service the next morning (actually enjoyed that less than our normal concierge class menu!) they delivered Celebrity champagne flutes to our cabin for us to take home, but we left them as we had no additional room for them and they were nothing special. The flowers were beautiful and the Captain did a very professional yet touching ceremony. It was truly a beautiful and memorable experience. In addition a ships photographer was on-hand throughout the ceremony and then for an hour afterwards walking us all over the ship for photos.

 

Athens: Would love to hear about the bad parts so we can avoid!

 

We did a half day tour in Athens to see the main sights which were just not spectacular. We did end up in the Plaka which is of course commercial, but charming at the same time. I think if I were to do it again, I would go straight to the Plaka and do some shopping and lunch on our own. They had wonderful sidewalk restaurants, and small windows where you could walk up and by a gyro, which is what we did! Amazing! One of our favorite finds in Athens and soooo much cheaper for food and drinks then any other ports. A huge gyro and a bottle of water cost us 2.50 euro!

JFK: How many hours before your flight did you arrive? Did you take a limo or drive? We are thinking of doing a limo and that it will be cost neutral to taking 2 cars to JFK and parking them for 14 days

 

We arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of our plane leaving and had tons of time. The flight actually left on time which was amazing! We took a limo simply for ease with so much luggage and because coming home with the time change we knew we would be exhaused. We were. When we landed our bodies thought it was 1am and we were thankful to be driven home. Cost wise for the two of us and the one car we would have driven and parked, it probably cost us $100 extra, but it was well worth it and way less hassle. No shuttle buses from the parking area, and no dragging the luggage!

 

Hotel: Did you get to select that hotel via X or did they assign it?

 

We selected the hotel and fell in love with it and the location upon arriving. It exceeded our expectations.

 

Thanks for all your help!

[nycglitter]

Okay, here are the photos from our trip. Way more photos than anyone will want to see, but everyone comes looking for photos with specific things that they want to see. The photos are in order of the itinerary.

 

Enjoy and sorry there are so many. You can always just look at the thumbnails and click on those you want to see larger to save some time!

http://family.webshots.com/album/565097398cUqjJz?vhost=family

[jajuandbachi]

Do you have to put medications in the quart size zip loc bag or can you have them in one of those daily pill containers in you carry on or tote? Also do you have to put powdered make-up in the bag or can it be just in the tote?

 

Janice

[nycglitter]

Do you have to put medications in the quart size zip loc bag or can you have them in one of those daily pill containers in you carry on or tote? Also do you have to put powdered make-up in the bag or can it be just in the tote?

 

Janice

 

 

Janice,

 

Medications are exempt from the dreaded plastic bag. Do keep them with you however because suitcases can be checked out and medications can be lost. My husband packed medication recently (in pill form) for a business trip in his suitcase and TSA went through the bag, opened the bottle and then tossed it back in with the cap not on tightly. My husband lost medication that he takes daily. Bad scenario. Just keep the meds with you and you will be fine. As for powdered makeup, you don't have to put it in the quart sized bag as it is not a liquid. I ended up putting all of the makeup that I wanted to carry into the bag and I have to say that no one, the entire trip, evey looked at it. I was so stressed about it and it didn't even garner one glance. Better safe than sorry. Use the bag as much as possible, but for sure with any liquids or gels.

 

The one item was most worried about? Water. Whether in a drinking bottle, or a fan that squirts water, whatever form, they took it very seriously and I watched tons of people throw theres out. You can buy it once past security to bring on the plane.

 

Have fun!

[Cruiser Nonna]

Thank you so much for responding to my questions and to everyone - your help is greatly appreciated. I do have a couple more questions if you have the time.

 

1. We will need to see the Maite'd when we board as we are confirmed on Main Dining (do you remember the time for it?) and Late is closed however we are going to try - do you remember what the daily schedule showed for the times you could see the Maitre D on embarkation day?

 

Since we overnight the first night in Venice I am wondering if the Maitre'd is even "holding court" or waits until next day?

 

2. Did you exchange US dollars for Euros onboard and do you recall the exchagnge rate?

 

Thanks again for all your help for ALL of us!!!!

[nycglitter]

Thank you so much for responding to my questions and to everyone - your help is greatly appreciated. I do have a couple more questions if you have the time.

 

1. We will need to see the Maite'd when we board as we are confirmed on Main Dining (do you remember the time for it?) and Late is closed however we are going to try - do you remember what the daily schedule showed for the times you could see the Maitre D on embarkation day?

 

The Maitre d' is available from Noon on at the Rendevous lounge. We went as soon as we got on the ship to check on where our table was located and to make sure we had a table for two. It took a bit of discussion but we finally got everything just the way we wanted it. Main seating was at 6:15pm and late seating was at 8:45. We had late seating and found that it was a little later than we would have liked, but were happy to have the extra time in port and not have to rush back to get ready. It ended up working out great for us. Either way, Celebrity schedules all shows around both seatings so no one has to miss out.

 

Since we overnight the first night in Venice I am wondering if the Maitre'd is even "holding court" or waits until next day?

 

Not sure about that, I would just ask at guest relations in the lobby where you enter the ship. They will be able to tell you for sure.

 

2. Did you exchange US dollars for Euros onboard and do you recall the exchagnge rate?

 

We chose not to change any money on board the ship as there was a fee and the rate was not great. We found it much easier to not change money, but rather visit the ATM's which were readily available in each port to withdraw whatever money we needed. We always took out enough Euro for that day, but did not carry around too much at any one time. Very easy to do and our bank did not charge for the withdrawls.

 

Thanks again for all your help for ALL of us!!!!

 

 

My pleasure! Hope you have a blast!

[jajuandbachi]

We have flown many times but never internationally. Do you have to put medications in the quart size zip loc bag or can you have it in one of those daily pill containers and just have it in your purse or tote? Also, I know that liquid make-up, gels, creams and lotions have to go into the zip loc bag, but can you keep powdered make-up in your purse or tote or does that have to go into the zip loc bag?

 

Janice

[nycglitter]

We have flown many times but never internationally. Do you have to put medications in the quart size zip loc bag or can you have it in one of those daily pill containers and just have it in your purse or tote? Also, I know that liquid make-up, gels, creams and lotions have to go into the zip loc bag, but can you keep powdered make-up in your purse or tote or does that have to go into the zip loc bag?

 

Janice

 

 

Sorry, I tried to answer this the first time and it didn't go through.

 

No, medications and powders do not have to be in the ziplock.

[keela1eva2]

End August wonder how many children. Scottish schools already back. Here the school goes back on the 3rd September so who knows. As long as they are reasonably behaved I have no problem with children. I have never found a problem on X but I have read of problems others have found on certain cruise lines.

 

Sue

[nycglitter]

End August wonder how many children. Scottish schools already back. Here the school goes back on the 3rd September so who knows. As long as they are reasonably behaved I have no problem with children. I have never found a problem on X but I have read of problems others have found on certain cruise lines.

 

Sue

 

The kids on this cruise were plentiful for sure, but were not a problem.

[our turn]

Here is a link to a photo that our cabin steward took of us...

(hope this works!)

 

http://thumb14.webshots.net/t/65/765/8/65/84/2920865840071376454nRetjL_th.jpg

 

You both look fabulous and so happy!

[SalSandy]

Great pics! I hope you left the cabin in good working order, we will be in it in a month from now.

[margeecruiser]

Hi, Glitter

 

We are going on Summit to the Med next June. We are doing our Vow Renewal -- our 50th--!! Did you get to select your flower colors and style or did they just have bridal colors? I'm wearing a dark chocolate brown formal gown and would like to have yellow or gold toned flowers to celebrate the Golden Anniversary. The Wedding Department could not tell me if this was possible and it seems the on-board wedding planner cannot pre-order special flower colors. In your experience, was there a selection of various flowers? Do they compare with what a normal flower shop would normally have? Thanks for your wonderful review. You seem to have factual answers to all the details. Thanks so much.:)

[nycglitter]

You both look fabulous and so happy!

 

Thanks Kim, and thank you again for the pictures and advice, it was so helpful!

 

Great pics! I hope you left the cabin in good working order, we will be in it in a month from now.

 

I think we left it in tip-top shape for you. You are going to have so much fun. Some info that you might find helpful...because of the cabins position, it gets tons of spray which leaves the floor and chairs along with the railing fairly wet most of the time. Just pull the chairs towards the door to the cabin when not in use and you will be ok!

 

Hi, Glitter

 

We are going on Summit to the Med next June. We are doing our Vow Renewal -- our 50th--!! Did you get to select your flower colors and style or did they just have bridal colors? I'm wearing a dark chocolate brown formal gown and would like to have yellow or gold toned flowers to celebrate the Golden Anniversary. The Wedding Department could not tell me if this was possible and it seems the on-board wedding planner cannot pre-order special flower colors. In your experience, was there a selection of various flowers? Do they compare with what a normal flower shop would normally have? Thanks for your wonderful review. You seem to have factual answers to all the details. Thanks so much.:)

 

Congratulations on your upcoming 50th anniversary! I hope we are so lucky!

 

The flowers unfortunately are basically luck of the draw. They do not order flowers specifically for the occasion and there for make up the arrangement from whatever roses they have. I did go up to the florist and ask to see my choices. They are very accommodating and will do their best to make you happy, but you may have to deal with limited selections.

 

I will say however that our ceremony was performed on the second sea day and the flowers looked fresh and beautiful until we left the ship and I had to leave them onboard. (very sad).

[our turn]

margeecruiser -- our vow renewal was during the week of Valentine's and they had tons of roses in all colors. Normally, I would think there would be fewer choices. I chose white roses and they were beautiful.

 

Kim

[Crusinman29]

Winedown 17 come join the roll call for the 05/10/2009 sailing of the Summit. We too are on the same sailing....

 

Bryan

[WineDown17]

Woo Hoo! Will do.. started on months ago- not sure if its the same one, but who cares. Counting the dayS!

[Baci and Pop Pop]

Thanks so much for all the info regarding your cruise. This will be our very first cruise and I think we chose a very ambitious cruise for our maiden voyage. I have just a few questions that I am hoping you can answer.

 

1. Did you purchase wine in Barcelona and bring it on board with you?

 

2. Did you take advantage of the Aqua Spa and if so how was it? Also, is there a charge to eat in the Aqua Spa for lunch?

 

3. Were there many small children on your cruise?

 

We are originally from outside of NYC - Lindenhurst, L.I. now living in Arizona and I must agree with you, once you've seen Broadway other shows pale in comparison, but I am hopeful that we will have some good entertainment. I've heard that the shows are not that crowded due to the extensive day tours.

 

4. Did you make it into the Grand Casino in Monaco? We have a ship tour for Ville France and I am hoping that we have enough time to see everything that we want to see.

 

Congrats on the renewal vows and once again thanks for all the great info.

 

Pat & Ken

Marana, AZ

 

 

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!

[swigso]

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.

When are you sailing in Feb, we are on the 22nd, join the role call.

[KIndercrisp]

Swigso: I will definitely be joining the roll call. I have been a "stalker" thus far but my husband "Syncmaster" and friend "Brandymay" have already been on. I am very excited about the new ship.