Summit August 14-26.... One word.....

[AnthonyF]

Wow.... 80-95 degrees, blue skies, great itinerary/ports, good to great food and service.... Always surprised when people complain or nitpick.....

 

Yes the ship is almost 10 years old, so there is some aging.... Food not always perfect and little complaints there if you look for them.....

 

Let me know if you have any questions....

[redshoes]

Glad you had a great cruise! We're sailing on the Summit October 17.

Can you tell me how late the thalassotherapy pool is open in the evening?

[AnthonyF]

I think it was 10 or 11 (latest).....

[carpman&Mrs]

Hi I'm sailing 19th Sept, can you tell me what the staff were like for taking alcohol onboard I've read in other posts they're are quite hot on it.

Also what was the wine packages like?

Thanks

[Texed]

Anthony,

Thanks for the comments. :)

[AnthonyF]

Hi I'm sailing 19th Sept, can you tell me what the staff were like for taking alcohol onboard I've read in other posts they're are quite hot on it.

Also what was the wine packages like?

Thanks

 

I took 3 bottles of wine on board in my knapsack and there was no problems. Our luggage was lost (delayed in Philadelphia) so I did not pack anything there. There were no issues and when you went though there was then a Duty Free shop where you could buy more and I don't recall any other check.

 

We boarded in Barcelona and the quality of wine and prices are ridiculouslly low (for us Canadians). I walked in a wine store on La Ramla (in the food market, which is a must see). I asked for three quality inexpensive bottles, not sure what would happen with no luggage and carrying it through security.... I was handed 3 that cost $5 euros each and were very good!!!!

 

They were however very diligent afterward as we had a bottle of Lemoncello confiscated (returned last day) and did however walk right by the desk with a bottle of wine while they processed the Lemoncello.....

 

They have 3 wine packages Captains, Sommeliers and Collectors that they try and push on you. I did take the "cheap" one, which claims they are $35-$45 bottles that was $95 for 3 and $210 for 7.... The next level was approximately $50-60/day and (i.e. I think $175 for 3 days) and the top one cost about $105.

 

I don't think bringing 3-4 bottles on is an issue and certainly much less so if in your luggage. During the cruise, may try to smuggle a cheap wine at best.....

[carpman&Mrs]

Thank you this is very helpful :D

[patrickmoran]

Did you eat at the Bistro in Waterfall Cafe on any evening? If yes, how was it and what were the choices like?

Did you try Aqua Spa cafe?

Thanks

[Rysyonok]

Hi :) We're sailing on Century, but we're boarding in Barcelona as well. Can you share more about the embarkation, disembarkation, weather, locals, etc? There are dozens of stories on the Internet about tourists getting mugged in Barcelona - have you seen anything like that? :)

[Rhisibabe]

We were on the same cruise. Embarkation was really smooth and we were through in about 5 mins. We spent 2 days in Barcelona before boarding and were very wary at first about pickpockets etc, but had no problems, although I have heard about other people having things stolen.

[Rhisibabe]

Disembarkation in Venice was equally quick, although we couldn't find what floor to get off at at first. The weather was absolutely roasting and really humid which was quite sapping at first, but we were just getting used to it by the end of the holiday. I must say that I found the Italians quite ignorant, especially the girl who we bought the tickets from in Doge's Palace in Venice who practically threw the tickets at us and rolled her eyes because we didn't have any change. Have a great time:D

[Rysyonok]

We were on the same cruise. Embarkation was really smooth and we were through in about 5 mins. We spent 2 days in Barcelona before boarding and were very wary at first about pickpockets etc, but had no problems, although I have heard about other people having things stolen.

 

What hotel did you stay at? What did you go see? What were good places to eat? Did you take the metro? :)

[Smoke Fan]

Anthony - Thank you for the positive review. Always good to hear from happy cruisers on Celebrity. Nice to hear you had a great cruise!

Patty

[AnthonyF]

Go to tripadvisor and you'll see 600+ hotels.... Hard to go wrong. We stayed at one out of the way near the Stadium (FC Barcelona) which was great for the price. Arriving @ 8:00 am with no clothes, we just paid for the City Bus ($21/person) and rode around..... Sure metro is easier and much cheaper, but could see my family was tired.

 

Felt safe walking around the crowds in La Rambla, though had hand in my pocket protecting wallet the entire time. Very quiet most places....

 

We arrived and missed lunch, which is the best bargains and deals.... Do Tapas in Gothic area.... We unfortunatley were looking for a place around 5:00 in the market, that was closed and sat down at a tapas place that was overpriced in terms of quality and the price for a beer, coke and water ($7, $4 & $2.50 euros, ouch).....

 

On the ship we ate every night in the Metropolitan except for 1 meal at the Normandy, which was over the top. Food very good, not spectacular, but service second to none. Go early when not crowded as this makes it even better (even dressed fairly casual).... The Wtaerfall menu seemed very good, but never went.

 

 

The Spa Cafe hours have been reduced and I only went in to check once or twice and it looked good....

 

Opted for late dinner, but early may have worked better for the family as they were always starved (at least half the family) and by the time you are done it is late (though I like late dinners).

 

Also note that if you do not have a problem, can walk to Old City in Dubrovnik, Venice, Santorini and Athens and not get rooked by shuttles or taxis...... I found we were happy to be back on the ship between

3-5 every day......

 

Any more questions?????

[Rysyonok]

Anthony,

 

thank you :)

[Scottygirl1]

Maybe I can help with a few queries too... We found that they checked our bags every time for wine - BUT after they find it they tell you to hand it in at another counter. Of course, we only handed in one and my partner took the other bottle to the room. We only found out that this was easy to do by the end of the cruise !!

 

About the wine package available, we didn't think this was good value because you could buy OK wine for around $26 to 30 a bottle and this worked out cheaper than the basic wine package. Also on the at sea days they were selling nice wine for $20 a bottle in the Waterfall cafe at a special little stand set up. We would buy a bottle of this and take it back to our room for pre-dinner drinks.

 

About the pick-pockets in Barcelona, our tour guide pointed them out to us. They were everywhere and usually females dressed as tourists. You could spot them because they just walked around the same area all the time and clearly were not sight-seeing. We held on to our bags very tightly and I think as long as you are careful you will be OK. Just don't leave bags open or have wallets in back pockets etc. These girls clearly work in pairs and must be very good at what they do. You'll never realise they are pick pockets because they just look like normal tourists.

 

Oh and we LOVED our cruise - no complaints at all :)

[kitkat9438]

It's so nice to see great reviews on here about the Summit. We are taking our first Celebrity cruise on the Summit in December for the Caribbean itinerary. This will be our third cruise and so far just love cruising. Have, however, been seeing a lot of negative comments. I agree, it will always be what you make of it and how can a cruise vacation be bad?

 

Glad you had a great trip.

 

Did you have a CC cabin and how were the perks?

[carpman&Mrs]

Thank you Scottygirl thats really good to know ;)

[Scottygirl1]

It's so nice to see great reviews on here about the Summit. We are taking our first Celebrity cruise on the Summit in December for the Caribbean itinerary. This will be our third cruise and so far just love cruising. Have, however, been seeing a lot of negative comments. I agree, it will always be what you make of it and how can a cruise vacation be bad?

 

Glad you had a great trip.

 

Did you have a CC cabin and how were the perks?

 

We had a CC cabin and really the only perks were slightly larger room and better breakfast. We had room service breakfast nearly everyday because you have an extended menu on CC. We found that if we ordered breakfast early, it was our wake up call too. It was all set up on the balcony table with table cloth and flower every morning - wonderful. Highly recommend this.

[Rysyonok]

We had a CC cabin and really the only perks were slightly larger room and better breakfast. We had room service breakfast nearly everyday because you have an extended menu on CC. We found that if we ordered breakfast early, it was our wake up call too. It was all set up on the balcony table with table cloth and flower every morning - wonderful. Highly recommend this.

 

Nice =) Can you order your breakfast the night before I take it? And did the crew (butler, waiter, etc) set it up for you?

[kaseyoz]

Maybe I can help with a few queries too... We found that they checked our bags every time for wine - BUT after they find it they tell you to hand it in at another counter. Of course, we only handed in one and my partner took the other bottle to the room. We only found out that this was easy to do by the end of the cruise !!

 

About the wine package available, we didn't think this was good value because you could buy OK wine for around $26 to 30 a bottle and this worked out cheaper than the basic wine package. Also on the at sea days they were selling nice wine for $20 a bottle in the Waterfall cafe at a special little stand set up. We would buy a bottle of this and take it back to our room for pre-dinner drinks.

 

About the pick-pockets in Barcelona, our tour guide pointed them out to us. They were everywhere and usually females dressed as tourists. You could spot them because they just walked around the same area all the time and clearly were not sight-seeing. We held on to our bags very tightly and I think as long as you are careful you will be OK. Just don't leave bags open or have wallets in back pockets etc. These girls clearly work in pairs and must be very good at what they do. You'll never realise they are pick pockets because they just look like normal tourists.

 

Oh and we LOVED our cruise - no complaints at all :)

 

Scottygirl.

I just thought I would let you know that some one on the P and O australia boards has just copied and pasted your post in full on there pretending it is his own work.:confused::(

[brighton seagulls]

Just a quick note to say that the cruise was one of the most superb holiday experiences of our lives!!

 

From boarding at Barca, which was so easy and efficient ( we were one of the first ones aboard and couldn't get to our cabin till 1:30 ish, giving us time to wander around and marvel at the ship)...to the final disembarking at Venice, we enjoyed every minute of this trip.

 

Hello to Helen, Chris, Bella and hubby, Bob and wife ( can you tell I am rubbish with names) Marco and Lorie, Duane and Barbara, Amanda and Phil and all the cruisecritic people we met on board.

 

The staff on the ship were the most courteous, hard working, attentative and friendly group of people you are likely to meet and our cabin stewards were just great!

 

The thing you will find about Celebrity is the little things that are so special and make the experience....cabins been cleaned and looked after three times a day, the bar staff on decks ( the jamaican contingent were terrific...." You're on a cruise...I have the booze:D")Canope's daily ( even though we were not Conceirge) a couple of bottles of champagne from the HouseKeeper, frozen fruit kebabs served by the Officers by the pool, garry the entertainment director, the dancing teacher ( lovelly South African girl)...I could go on.

 

Do look at excursions booked by cruisecritic people...its well worth doing. If you want a car in Civitecchia, book one!!!!! We misssed out as they had all gone. The Celeb excursions are quite expensive although the one to Cinque Terra is one not to miss. Be brave...do your own thing.

 

the dining in the main restaurant was great . Superb food and plenty of it. The Normadie we found was special and the service quite exceptional.

 

One gripe.....some of the Spanish children on board had no manners at all and treated the staff around the pool like slaves....this was totally unacceptable and the parents did nothing about it....but apart from the 10/10

[LuckiePuris]

We had a CC cabin and really the only perks were slightly larger room and better breakfast. We had room service breakfast nearly everyday because you have an extended menu on CC. We found that if we ordered breakfast early, it was our wake up call too. It was all set up on the balcony table with table cloth and flower every morning - wonderful. Highly recommend this.

 

Thanks for all the info you are posting, the breakfast especially sounds amazing!

 

Would love to see any photos :)

[brighton seagulls]

looking to see what we can get on Summit next year!!!!

[Scottygirl1]

Scottygirl.

I just thought I would let you know that some one on the P and O australia boards has just copied and pasted your post in full on there pretending it is his own work.:confused::(

 

Really? they can't find their own words? I wonder how often that goes on here.

 

Oh and in answer to someone else's question re breakfast on the balcony - yes, you order via a card you hang on your door the night before and one of the cabin staff bring it - make sure you ask for it outside and they will lay the table for you (if you are CC class).