Cruise Ship Reviews : Celebrity Cruises Reviews
council1 saw things this way:
Excellent service staff in cabin, dining room and all over ship and great shows., July 12, 2014
Reviewer: council1
Pros: Service and shows were best on the cruise. Food in dining room was very good.
Cons: Balcony cabin a bit smaller than on other lines, even on Concierge level.
Date of cruise: June 29, 2014
Departure port: Bayonne
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 9118
Good for children: Yes
Cruise to Bermuda from Bayonne, N.J., was easy to board and disembark. Celebrity's process is better than other cruise lines I've been on. The cabin stewards and waitstaff in the dining room were most attentive to our needs. AJ, our maitre'd, made sure to visit our table each evening and was excellent and made sure that our needs were met. The food was excellent to good, and if we didn't like something, our waiter offered to bring us a different selection. Very attentive were Mel and Ruth. The three musical reviews were quality shows. The cabaret singer, comedian, and the Tenors of Rock were also excellent shows. If you are a party person, then cruising is for you because the nightlife is very active. The Thalassotherapy pool is wonderful for getting kinks out of your aching back and neck. Very relaxing. Loved afternoon teas. Celebrity staff did go out of their way to make this cruise enjoyable. The captain made the trip enjoyable (I believe that in a prior life he was a stand-up comic). The stateroom was a bit smaller than on other ships, but I believe that this ship is a lot older than some of Celebrity's other ships. Concierge level may not be worth it, because we really didn't see a difference in the service that others received. We did get a tote bag and got savory snacks in the afternoon, but not worth paying the extra for Concierge level. We had rain the first day in Bermuda and had to cancel our beach day. Celebrity refunded our entire tour amount because we booked it with the ship's tour desk. That was very nice. If you are not a beach person, then going to Bermuda is not the trip for you as the beaches are the main attraction there. We took a 4-1/2 hour tour of Bermuda, nice but not exactly exciting. Shopping is good at the Dockyard Wharf, especially the glass blowing and rum cake factory are good stops to make. Be prepared to pay a lot for anything in Bermuda. It is more expensive than ports in the Caribbean. Bermudians are very nice people to talk to and are very accessible if you need to ask questions.
JAYGOLF325 saw things this way:
Excellent experience throughout entire week!, February 27, 2014
Reviewer: JAYGOLF325
Pros: Staff, food and everything about this cruise was excellent!
Cons: Nightly entertainment was fair at best, comedian there for one night was ok!
Date of cruise: February 15, 2014
Departure port: SAN JUAN PUERTO RICO
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 6053
Overall this cruise was excellent. From all staff members to the full variety of food, everything was exceptional. Couldn't ask for more.
mikegaan saw things this way:
Expectations based on ratings perhaps too high, January 16, 2014
Reviewer: mikegaan
Pros: Entertainment, food, itinerary
Cons: Cabin/balcony condition (suite); taste of Royal Carib nickel-diming
Date of cruise: January 4, 2014
Departure port: Puerto Rico
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Jr. Suite
Cabin number: 8121
The "good": Good itinerary (our primary cruise criterion); food, especially in the caf/buffet - great ethnic variety and well prepared. Entertainment excellent, ship's staff as well as headliners. Crew very helpful and pleasant, with perhaps one or two exceptions at the 'customer service/excursion' desk. The 'Not so good': Looks aged. Carpet in the suite had large coffee stains, as did the balcony deck. Rust spots clearly evident in the overhang. TV intermittent - discovered a loose antenna cable (stewards stuff pillows behind TV when turning down beds for the evening loosening/straining connections). Wi-Fi packages a little steep, which goes with an overall hint of nickel-diming found on Royal Carib (2 cruise experience-Carib, Baltic - won't use them again). $14/day for water? In a suite? Include it in the cruise price. It's not the money, its the perception of being squeezed; maybe OK for a basic cruise line, but not for a brand aspiring to be upscale. Have been on Cunard twice in the last year, and Regent a few years before, and never got that vibe. Opinion: We are not a demanding couple, and don't particularly look for or want excessive 'service' preferring to get things ourselves. A butler was not a big plus for us, and we rarely asked for anything. For that reason, I will probably go with a balcony vs. a junior suite in future. The 'amenities' just weren't that big a deal.
eajack saw things this way:
Friendly/pleasant staff, pleasing if unspectacular decor, good food, small cabin, December 7, 2013
Reviewer: eajack
Pros: Service
Cons: Tight ocean-view cabin
Date of cruise: November 23, 2013
Departure port: San Juan
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 3073
Nice ship, good crew, good food, good entertainment but surprisingly small outside cabin.
aileen1 saw things this way:
First cruise so nothing to compare but overall fantastic repeatable experience -, November 25, 2013
Reviewer: aileen1
Pros: Food, staff, hygiene
Cons: None to mention
Date of cruise: November 9, 2013
Departure port: San Juan
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 7091
Good for children: No
To start with the food was superb ... variety, service, knowledge of staff to mention a few. Normally I don't go for buffet meals as they tend to be lukewarm at best but in Summit's case they were always piping hot. For cold foods .... the salads were to die for. The range of activities provided daily was good and my view is that it would be very easy to do a cruise like this on your own ... everything is laid on. There's never a spare minute if you don't want one. However, be aware that a lot of the activities are spa and treatment upsells. If you want some quiet time that's easy too .... there are two libraries and its easy to eek out a favorite quiet spot in the ship too. If you want "action" that's easy to find too. Normally loads of activity at the pool and if you're feeling athletic there's a running track on deck 11. Staff are extremely helpful and attentive but not "in your face." Only thing missing for me was a cinema. Overall excellent cruise ship and to be recommended. This was my first cruise but of the people that I spoke to that could compare with other cruise lines they liked Celebrity the best.
kaj822 saw things this way:
Wonderful ship with excellent crew!, October 13, 2013
Reviewer: kaj822
Pros: Compact ship, easy to get around
Cons: Rooms need attention -- old, but clean!
Date of cruise: September 21, 2013
Departure port: Cape liberty, Bayonne
Region visited: Canada/New England
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 7073
Nothing bad to say. I have been on many cruises and enjoyed this ship and itinerary. Wonderful crew, some of the best IMHO. Food was not the best I have had on a ship, but I have no complaints -- all meals thoroughly enjoyed. We had a norovirus outbreak which didn't allow for self serve in buffet or dining room, but overworked staff handled well with smiles. Entertainment was good not great. Embarkation and disembarkation was no problem. I would cruise on Summit again without hesitation.
weluvcrusin saw things this way:
Would travel with the Summit again., September 6, 2013
Reviewer: weluvcrusin
Pros: Staff was great, food better then most cruise lines.
Cons: Ship is showing age.
Departure port: Bayonne, NJ
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 2134 and 2138
My family and I traveled on the Summit August 25 - September 1, 2013, traveling to Bermuda. We had two outside cabins. My wife and I in one and my mother-in-law and two children ages 10 and 12 in the other. Arrived at Bayonne NJ around 11 a.m. and was onboard the ship by 11:45. Very smooth. The food onboard was better then most other cruise lines. It is not as good as it once was, back in the days when Michael Roux was running the food. The staff was very good especially our waiter Carlos and his assistant Mauricio. They were excellent and made going to dinner each night a joy. The shows in the main theater were very good as was the entertainment around the ship in the various bars. We found Brandi Paige the guitarist/vocalist to be excellent and hope to see her show again. Jordan Peterson and Jefferson Ang were also very enjoyable as was the band Flava. Captain Theodore was very visible and interacted with the guests happily. The Summit does show signs of age but don't we all. Celebrity is doing it's best to keep this older ship current but you can see some outdated decor. The pools were a little small for 2000+ guests and they had no kiddie pool. There was a blow-up one, but not what I would expect on a cruise ship. The buffets were repetitive but I have found this to be the same on all the cruise lines I have been on(RCL, Carnival, NCL, Princess). The port of Bermuda was beautiful. We were there three days and leaving and re-entering the ship could not have been smoother. We rented mopeds on the Island and were able to park them right at the gangway of the ship each night. The trip back home was smooth sailing. On a scale of 1 to 10. (1 being poor and 10 being excellent), I would rate this cruise an 8.5. We would travel on Celebrity again and probably on the Summit as well. As for my kids, they did love the cruise but they love cruising. We did not find this ship to be that kid-friendly.
hula2010 saw things this way:
A little disappointing, compared to Royal Caribbean, September 6, 2011
Reviewer: hula2010
Pros: Ice cold towels and drinks offered dockside were SUPER!!
Cons: Quite a bit of misinformation, staff not following up on requests, inquiries
Departure port: Bayonne, NJ
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 9043
Several small things can add up to a less than stellar vacation...Omelette stations 'ran out' of spinach after the third day and the chefs just said they didn't have any. When I inquired on the third day why they ran out so early in the cruise, a dining room manager went to check, then came to tell me they DID have spinach, and offered to make me new omelette. As I didn't want to waste the one I already had begun to eat, I refused, but appreciated his offer. It just shouldn't have taken my inquiry to a supervisor to get this item up to the food station. During an afternoon bite to eat at the poolside grill, I was seated at the first table nearest the drink dispenser area. I stood up to get a glass of iced tea, leaving my half eaten hamburger for 90 seconds TOPS, and when I returned, a staffer had removed my food and thrown it away. When I asked him if he had taken the tray away, he just said yes, no apology or offer to replace the burger...ANNOYING. There was no Catholic or Christian services listed in the daily planner. I happened to see a sign on Deck 3 about a Catholic service to be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday. When I found the room it was supposed to be in, we found out it was a do-it-yourself service, with no one from the ship's staff or chaplain there to conduct anything...Thanks, I can pray in my stateroom. Drink quality very inconsistent. We had a concierge class stateroom, as did three other family members (four concierge class rooms out of eight in our party). We received a bottle of champagne upon leaving Bayonne to begin our trip; three or four nights later, the other concierge staterooms all received another complimentary bottle of champagne but we did not. When I inquired with our attendant, Belinda, she said she would check with her supervisor. She never got back to us for the rest of our trip.I was NOT happy. Decor of staterooms VERY non-stylish with very western-cowboy-like draperies, not matching the bedding, not matching the framed print above the couch. On the positive side: Dining room staff, pool/bar waiters, especially Bobby Chen, were very good...acapella group, the Neptunes, and comedian Troy Thirdgill, were great...overall an OK trip...
gramps saw things this way:
gooG cruise for the money, December 9, 2010
Reviewer: gramps
Pros: The staff/service and the entertainment were excellent
Cons: Bad place to begin your cruise with so many noisy Puerto Ricans on board
Date of cruise: November 27, 2010
Departure port: San Juan
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 2026
This was a good value for your money vacation. The ports visited were good and the scheduling was great. The ship needs to be updated, cleaned up. The one thing I found a little disturbing was that this cruise line was comparable to a cheap Carnival ship with too many noisy Puerto Ricans on board. I guess many organizations or groups got together and thought they owned the ship. I guess that's why Celebrity Cruise line has to lower the rate to get you to fly to San Juan. I rate the San Juan port great, but the Pan American port used by Royal Caribbean Corp. for this cruise was terrible.
tcambron saw things this way:
14-day Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Barcelona, September 6, 2010
Reviewer: tcambron
Pros: Service and food excellent
Cons: Ship showing age
Date of cruise: November 14, 2009
Departure port: Venice, Italy
Region visited: Mediterranean
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 8166
Good for children: No
Embarkation: Smooth and quick. Boarded in Venice around noon. Champagne offered on arrival. Someone escorted us to cabin and carried bag. Ship showed age.In cabin, sofas were frayed, railing badly needed varnish, TV remote did not work too well, carpet worn, balcony showed rust and needed paint, and paint droppings on floor. Sufficient elevators ? seldom crowded and hardly ever had to wait. Main theater was well designed with three levels and with no posts or obstructed views. Other public areas were very nice. Sister ship to Infinity. Cabin: Family ocean view - 271 sq ft. plus 242 sq ft balcony. Balcony had 270 deg view with table, four chairs and four chaises. Two separate rooms with a dividing door between them. One room had two couches that could fold out to beds, a TV, table and two coffee tables. Bedroom had TV, refrigerator, long desk, and two night stands. Double the normal amount of closet space. An approximately 10 foot entry hall from main hall. Very, very nice, large cabin. Thin terry cloth robes. Did not have flat screen TV. Ghirardelli chocolates at night. TV channels limited. TV movies were free on one channel. TV had interactive channels with account info, room service, pay-per-view movies ($10), etc. Program delivered when cabin cleaned. Newspaper at Guest Relations. Did not put towel on floor beside bed. Heard noises from hall and from neighbors. Library: Two levels with fair amount of books. Honor system sign out. Each morning had sudoku and crossword in library. No prizes. Fitness center: Excellent. Many treadmills (8?), ellipticals (8?), stair climbers (3?) and stationary bikes (6?). All had TVs and heart rate monitors. Twelve-15 weight machines ? new and very good. Internet caf?: Took laptop. Used Select Captains Club coupon for 25% off packages. Hot spots in bars and one side of buffet. Bought $50 (less 25%) package for about 100 min. and then $30 (less 25%) for about 55 min. Speed okay. Entertainment: Movie theater with good new movies. Fred ?, a comedian, was very good . Rest of entertainment was poor to average. Went to one or two production shows - fair. Bands were okay. Guitar player/singer was poor. Went to trivia a few times. Cruise director Damien ? from Canada was visible and good. Coffee: Fair to good ? good at Cova Caf? but was $4.60 (twice was charged only $3.45) for Americano. Did not order cappuccino in restaurant Large ship (1,950 passengers) ? no lines, easy to get around, fast convenient elevators. Smoking area well defined and outside. Extremely clean. Few announcements ? could not hear any announcements in cabin. Noon captain?s talk. Only a few announcements were in multiple languages. Room service ? menu limited. Ordered lunch four or five times, usually club sandwiches. Ordered cookies and coffee couple times. Dining room nice ? two levels. Excellent service. Salad dressing spooned on by bus boy. Ate dinner one night in Waterfall cafe (Lido) ? service was inexperienced waitress but good - expected tip $2 pp ? order from menu with a daily special, tablecloths. Normandie restaurant $30pp ? went once. Service excellent, food very good. Had to send first filet back ? overcooked and tough. Food very good overall ? service excellent, escargot and cr?me brule on menu every night. Lobster only once. Bread, hot and cold soups good. Meat was much better than fish. Waterfall cafe (Lido) for breakfast had multiple stations with cooked to order omelets and fried eggs. A station with waffles, eggs benedict and fresh fruit. An Asian breakfast station. Sticky buns. Plenty of coffee/tea stations. Excellent food. Lunch had pizza, pasta bar, stir fry, hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, salad bar. Great variety. Layout excellent so that lines were short. No problem finding seats. Waiters seldom refilled coffee and never drinks. Occasionally helped with trays. Aqua spa caf? good for healthier choices at lunch and breakfast ? egg white omelets, meat free tacos, fruit, etc. Ice cream free. Late night snacks but we did not go. Cabin stewards excellent - introduced themselves at beginning of cruise. Often saw him in hall and he always smiled and spoke. Photographers not too annoying. Conservatory with flowers Priest said daily mass in cinema. Four hot tubs. Galley tour and behind the scenes theater tour but no bridge tours (security). Other thoughts: Disembarkation fairly quick. Boarding cards did not have picture ID ? had to carry photo id off and on ship. Enrichment series lectures . Service excellent. Crew seemed genuinely happy and eager to please. Tenders were okay. Wine and drinks expensive - $7-9 and 6.50-7 (for high ball) Casino fairly large. Texas hold?em tournaments $60. For 10 players paid $300/$200. Had Norovirus outbreak. Went to ship?s doctor twice. Had IV. No charge.
fuchs saw things this way:
We very much enjoyed our cruise experience on the Summit, August 1, 2010
Reviewer: fuchs
Pros: The service in the main dining room and entertainment were excellent.
Cons: Sabbath service was not printed in the Friday daily program.
Date of cruise: July 18, 2010
Departure port: Port Liberty, New Jersey
Region visited: North America
Cabin category: Inside
Cabin number: 3102
Very nice cruise experience. Requested some kosher meals in the main dining room and that was accomodated nicely. The cruise left from Port Liberty in New Jersey. We live in Maryland. It was nice to be able to drive to the port and park our car. Accomodations and facilities on the Summit were very nice.
reba0818 saw things this way:
The ship was okay, nothing spectacular. We liked Carnival Splendor more, July 16, 2010
Reviewer: reba0818
Pros: The Aqua Spa was a nice touch, but everything else was just fair or below fair
Cons: The food in main dining room was inferior to what we've had on Carnival ships
Date of cruise: July 4, 2010
Departure port: bayonne, new jersey
Region visited: Canada/New England
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 3019
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: No
Staff on the ship was very good, the appearance of the ship was good, but the food from the main dining room was average or below...maybe the worst we have had in 10 cruises. The dining room was only open two days of seven for lunch -- actually one of those was a brunch, the other a lunch.We waited a half hour for a waiter on that one lunch day, and everyone at our table for 12 felt that our waiter had neglected to show up for the shift or a waiter hadn't been assigned to our table. We spoke to other people on the ship that were at other tables during this particular lunch and found that they encountered the same problem. We had breakfast on the 10th floor one morning, requesting an omelet. We wanted rye or wheat toast but the only bread available at that station was white bread! We had our omelet without toast that morning, hardly what I expect while on vacation. We went to the grill one afternoon for burgers. When we forgot to mention to the acting chef behind the counter that we didn't want rolls for our burger, after he'd put it on the plate, he looked at us like he would like to throw the roll at us! This was our first cruise with Celebrity, I wasn't left with the best impression of the cruise line.
skozinn saw things this way:
Great cruise to Bermuda, but ship was much more worn than I expected., July 12, 2010
Reviewer: skozinn
Pros: Nice layout, good food, great restaurant-the Normandy.
Cons: Very shopworn ship,hard time getting deck chairs in the shade.
Date of cruise: June 27, 2010
Departure port: Cape Liberty,NJ
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Jr. Suite
We usually go on Royal Caribbean, but decided to try Celebrity because we had heard it was a "step up". The Summit was not a step up, rather a step down from the RCCL ships we have been on. The ship is shopworn, very tired looking. There are no cozy spaces to have a drink or just enjoy the view. All the bars are very large and run into one another. It was often hard to get our drink order taken and once we had to leave to go to dinner because in 15 minutes, a waiter never came over for our order. The staff is very friendly and nice. A huge issue was getting deck chairs in the shade. There is a SEVERE shortage of chairs in the shade. They really need to do something about this. It is really a spoiler on a vacation.
loricar3 saw things this way:
Great cruise and destination...Bermuda., June 18, 2010
Reviewer: loricar3
Pros: Great food, Bermuda is beautiful, my kids were entertained all the time.
Cons: No more Gala Buffet.
Date of cruise: June 6, 2010
Departure port: Bayonne
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 2127
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: Yes
The Neptunes were our favorite entertainment on the ship. They were an a capella group of four guys. My kids were entertained all day....they'd be waiting for us at the dinner table.
Celebrity Summit reviews
Average customer rating:
4.19 / 5
4.19 / 5
Average Rating based on 14 Reviews:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
4.29
3.93
4.21
4.20
4.54
3.46
4.33
4.33
4.62
3.93
4.21
4.20
4.54
3.46
4.33
4.33
4.62
council1 saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Staff and Service
4
3
5
4
5
4
5
5
3
5
4
5
4
5
5
Excellent service staff in cabin, dining room and all over ship and great shows., July 12, 2014
Reviewer: council1
Pros: Service and shows were best on the cruise. Food in dining room was very good.
Cons: Balcony cabin a bit smaller than on other lines, even on Concierge level.
Date of cruise: June 29, 2014
Departure port: Bayonne
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 9118
Good for children: Yes
Cruise to Bermuda from Bayonne, N.J., was easy to board and disembark. Celebrity's process is better than other cruise lines I've been on. The cabin stewards and waitstaff in the dining room were most attentive to our needs. AJ, our maitre'd, made sure to visit our table each evening and was excellent and made sure that our needs were met. The food was excellent to good, and if we didn't like something, our waiter offered to bring us a different selection. Very attentive were Mel and Ruth. The three musical reviews were quality shows. The cabaret singer, comedian, and the Tenors of Rock were also excellent shows. If you are a party person, then cruising is for you because the nightlife is very active. The Thalassotherapy pool is wonderful for getting kinks out of your aching back and neck. Very relaxing. Loved afternoon teas. Celebrity staff did go out of their way to make this cruise enjoyable. The captain made the trip enjoyable (I believe that in a prior life he was a stand-up comic). The stateroom was a bit smaller than on other ships, but I believe that this ship is a lot older than some of Celebrity's other ships. Concierge level may not be worth it, because we really didn't see a difference in the service that others received. We did get a tote bag and got savory snacks in the afternoon, but not worth paying the extra for Concierge level. We had rain the first day in Bermuda and had to cancel our beach day. Celebrity refunded our entire tour amount because we booked it with the ship's tour desk. That was very nice. If you are not a beach person, then going to Bermuda is not the trip for you as the beaches are the main attraction there. We took a 4-1/2 hour tour of Bermuda, nice but not exactly exciting. Shopping is good at the Dockyard Wharf, especially the glass blowing and rum cake factory are good stops to make. Be prepared to pay a lot for anything in Bermuda. It is more expensive than ports in the Caribbean. Bermudians are very nice people to talk to and are very accessible if you need to ask questions.
JAYGOLF325 saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
5
5
2
3
5
4
5
5
2
3
5
4
5
Excellent experience throughout entire week!, February 27, 2014
Reviewer: JAYGOLF325
Pros: Staff, food and everything about this cruise was excellent!
Cons: Nightly entertainment was fair at best, comedian there for one night was ok!
Date of cruise: February 15, 2014
Departure port: SAN JUAN PUERTO RICO
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 6053
Overall this cruise was excellent. From all staff members to the full variety of food, everything was exceptional. Couldn't ask for more.
mikegaan saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
4
4
5
4
5
4
5
5
5
4
5
4
5
4
5
5
5
Expectations based on ratings perhaps too high, January 16, 2014
Reviewer: mikegaan
Pros: Entertainment, food, itinerary
Cons: Cabin/balcony condition (suite); taste of Royal Carib nickel-diming
Date of cruise: January 4, 2014
Departure port: Puerto Rico
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Jr. Suite
Cabin number: 8121
The "good": Good itinerary (our primary cruise criterion); food, especially in the caf/buffet - great ethnic variety and well prepared. Entertainment excellent, ship's staff as well as headliners. Crew very helpful and pleasant, with perhaps one or two exceptions at the 'customer service/excursion' desk. The 'Not so good': Looks aged. Carpet in the suite had large coffee stains, as did the balcony deck. Rust spots clearly evident in the overhang. TV intermittent - discovered a loose antenna cable (stewards stuff pillows behind TV when turning down beds for the evening loosening/straining connections). Wi-Fi packages a little steep, which goes with an overall hint of nickel-diming found on Royal Carib (2 cruise experience-Carib, Baltic - won't use them again). $14/day for water? In a suite? Include it in the cruise price. It's not the money, its the perception of being squeezed; maybe OK for a basic cruise line, but not for a brand aspiring to be upscale. Have been on Cunard twice in the last year, and Regent a few years before, and never got that vibe. Opinion: We are not a demanding couple, and don't particularly look for or want excessive 'service' preferring to get things ourselves. A butler was not a big plus for us, and we rarely asked for anything. For that reason, I will probably go with a balcony vs. a junior suite in future. The 'amenities' just weren't that big a deal.
eajack saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
4
4
4
4
5
5
4
4
4
5
5
Friendly/pleasant staff, pleasing if unspectacular decor, good food, small cabin, December 7, 2013
Reviewer: eajack
Pros: Service
Cons: Tight ocean-view cabin
Date of cruise: November 23, 2013
Departure port: San Juan
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 3073
Nice ship, good crew, good food, good entertainment but surprisingly small outside cabin.
aileen1 saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
5
4
4
5
5
5
5
4
5
4
4
5
5
5
5
4
5
First cruise so nothing to compare but overall fantastic repeatable experience -, November 25, 2013
Reviewer: aileen1
Pros: Food, staff, hygiene
Cons: None to mention
Date of cruise: November 9, 2013
Departure port: San Juan
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 7091
Good for children: No
To start with the food was superb ... variety, service, knowledge of staff to mention a few. Normally I don't go for buffet meals as they tend to be lukewarm at best but in Summit's case they were always piping hot. For cold foods .... the salads were to die for. The range of activities provided daily was good and my view is that it would be very easy to do a cruise like this on your own ... everything is laid on. There's never a spare minute if you don't want one. However, be aware that a lot of the activities are spa and treatment upsells. If you want some quiet time that's easy too .... there are two libraries and its easy to eek out a favorite quiet spot in the ship too. If you want "action" that's easy to find too. Normally loads of activity at the pool and if you're feeling athletic there's a running track on deck 11. Staff are extremely helpful and attentive but not "in your face." Only thing missing for me was a cinema. Overall excellent cruise ship and to be recommended. This was my first cruise but of the people that I spoke to that could compare with other cruise lines they liked Celebrity the best.
kaj822 saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
5
4
4
4
5
4
4
4
5
Wonderful ship with excellent crew!, October 13, 2013
Reviewer: kaj822
Pros: Compact ship, easy to get around
Cons: Rooms need attention -- old, but clean!
Date of cruise: September 21, 2013
Departure port: Cape liberty, Bayonne
Region visited: Canada/New England
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 7073
Nothing bad to say. I have been on many cruises and enjoyed this ship and itinerary. Wonderful crew, some of the best IMHO. Food was not the best I have had on a ship, but I have no complaints -- all meals thoroughly enjoyed. We had a norovirus outbreak which didn't allow for self serve in buffet or dining room, but overworked staff handled well with smiles. Entertainment was good not great. Embarkation and disembarkation was no problem. I would cruise on Summit again without hesitation.
weluvcrusin saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Staff and Service
4
4
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
Would travel with the Summit again., September 6, 2013
Reviewer: weluvcrusin
Pros: Staff was great, food better then most cruise lines.
Cons: Ship is showing age.
Departure port: Bayonne, NJ
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 2134 and 2138
My family and I traveled on the Summit August 25 - September 1, 2013, traveling to Bermuda. We had two outside cabins. My wife and I in one and my mother-in-law and two children ages 10 and 12 in the other. Arrived at Bayonne NJ around 11 a.m. and was onboard the ship by 11:45. Very smooth. The food onboard was better then most other cruise lines. It is not as good as it once was, back in the days when Michael Roux was running the food. The staff was very good especially our waiter Carlos and his assistant Mauricio. They were excellent and made going to dinner each night a joy. The shows in the main theater were very good as was the entertainment around the ship in the various bars. We found Brandi Paige the guitarist/vocalist to be excellent and hope to see her show again. Jordan Peterson and Jefferson Ang were also very enjoyable as was the band Flava. Captain Theodore was very visible and interacted with the guests happily. The Summit does show signs of age but don't we all. Celebrity is doing it's best to keep this older ship current but you can see some outdated decor. The pools were a little small for 2000+ guests and they had no kiddie pool. There was a blow-up one, but not what I would expect on a cruise ship. The buffets were repetitive but I have found this to be the same on all the cruise lines I have been on(RCL, Carnival, NCL, Princess). The port of Bermuda was beautiful. We were there three days and leaving and re-entering the ship could not have been smoother. We rented mopeds on the Island and were able to park them right at the gangway of the ship each night. The trip back home was smooth sailing. On a scale of 1 to 10. (1 being poor and 10 being excellent), I would rate this cruise an 8.5. We would travel on Celebrity again and probably on the Summit as well. As for my kids, they did love the cruise but they love cruising. We did not find this ship to be that kid-friendly.
hula2010 saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
4
2
5
4
4
2
4
2
5
4
4
2
4
A little disappointing, compared to Royal Caribbean, September 6, 2011
Reviewer: hula2010
Pros: Ice cold towels and drinks offered dockside were SUPER!!
Cons: Quite a bit of misinformation, staff not following up on requests, inquiries
Departure port: Bayonne, NJ
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 9043
Several small things can add up to a less than stellar vacation...Omelette stations 'ran out' of spinach after the third day and the chefs just said they didn't have any. When I inquired on the third day why they ran out so early in the cruise, a dining room manager went to check, then came to tell me they DID have spinach, and offered to make me new omelette. As I didn't want to waste the one I already had begun to eat, I refused, but appreciated his offer. It just shouldn't have taken my inquiry to a supervisor to get this item up to the food station. During an afternoon bite to eat at the poolside grill, I was seated at the first table nearest the drink dispenser area. I stood up to get a glass of iced tea, leaving my half eaten hamburger for 90 seconds TOPS, and when I returned, a staffer had removed my food and thrown it away. When I asked him if he had taken the tray away, he just said yes, no apology or offer to replace the burger...ANNOYING. There was no Catholic or Christian services listed in the daily planner. I happened to see a sign on Deck 3 about a Catholic service to be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday. When I found the room it was supposed to be in, we found out it was a do-it-yourself service, with no one from the ship's staff or chaplain there to conduct anything...Thanks, I can pray in my stateroom. Drink quality very inconsistent. We had a concierge class stateroom, as did three other family members (four concierge class rooms out of eight in our party). We received a bottle of champagne upon leaving Bayonne to begin our trip; three or four nights later, the other concierge staterooms all received another complimentary bottle of champagne but we did not. When I inquired with our attendant, Belinda, she said she would check with her supervisor. She never got back to us for the rest of our trip.I was NOT happy. Decor of staterooms VERY non-stylish with very western-cowboy-like draperies, not matching the bedding, not matching the framed print above the couch. On the positive side: Dining room staff, pool/bar waiters, especially Bobby Chen, were very good...acapella group, the Neptunes, and comedian Troy Thirdgill, were great...overall an OK trip...
gramps saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
5
4
5
4
5
2
5
4
5
4
5
2
5
gooG cruise for the money, December 9, 2010
Reviewer: gramps
Pros: The staff/service and the entertainment were excellent
Cons: Bad place to begin your cruise with so many noisy Puerto Ricans on board
Date of cruise: November 27, 2010
Departure port: San Juan
Region visited: Caribbean - Southern
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 2026
This was a good value for your money vacation. The ports visited were good and the scheduling was great. The ship needs to be updated, cleaned up. The one thing I found a little disturbing was that this cruise line was comparable to a cheap Carnival ship with too many noisy Puerto Ricans on board. I guess many organizations or groups got together and thought they owned the ship. I guess that's why Celebrity Cruise line has to lower the rate to get you to fly to San Juan. I rate the San Juan port great, but the Pan American port used by Royal Caribbean Corp. for this cruise was terrible.
tcambron saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
5
5
3
5
5
2
4
5
5
3
5
5
2
4
5
14-day Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Barcelona, September 6, 2010
Reviewer: tcambron
Pros: Service and food excellent
Cons: Ship showing age
Date of cruise: November 14, 2009
Departure port: Venice, Italy
Region visited: Mediterranean
Cabin category: Balcony
Cabin number: 8166
Good for children: No
Embarkation: Smooth and quick. Boarded in Venice around noon. Champagne offered on arrival. Someone escorted us to cabin and carried bag. Ship showed age.In cabin, sofas were frayed, railing badly needed varnish, TV remote did not work too well, carpet worn, balcony showed rust and needed paint, and paint droppings on floor. Sufficient elevators ? seldom crowded and hardly ever had to wait. Main theater was well designed with three levels and with no posts or obstructed views. Other public areas were very nice. Sister ship to Infinity. Cabin: Family ocean view - 271 sq ft. plus 242 sq ft balcony. Balcony had 270 deg view with table, four chairs and four chaises. Two separate rooms with a dividing door between them. One room had two couches that could fold out to beds, a TV, table and two coffee tables. Bedroom had TV, refrigerator, long desk, and two night stands. Double the normal amount of closet space. An approximately 10 foot entry hall from main hall. Very, very nice, large cabin. Thin terry cloth robes. Did not have flat screen TV. Ghirardelli chocolates at night. TV channels limited. TV movies were free on one channel. TV had interactive channels with account info, room service, pay-per-view movies ($10), etc. Program delivered when cabin cleaned. Newspaper at Guest Relations. Did not put towel on floor beside bed. Heard noises from hall and from neighbors. Library: Two levels with fair amount of books. Honor system sign out. Each morning had sudoku and crossword in library. No prizes. Fitness center: Excellent. Many treadmills (8?), ellipticals (8?), stair climbers (3?) and stationary bikes (6?). All had TVs and heart rate monitors. Twelve-15 weight machines ? new and very good. Internet caf?: Took laptop. Used Select Captains Club coupon for 25% off packages. Hot spots in bars and one side of buffet. Bought $50 (less 25%) package for about 100 min. and then $30 (less 25%) for about 55 min. Speed okay. Entertainment: Movie theater with good new movies. Fred ?, a comedian, was very good . Rest of entertainment was poor to average. Went to one or two production shows - fair. Bands were okay. Guitar player/singer was poor. Went to trivia a few times. Cruise director Damien ? from Canada was visible and good. Coffee: Fair to good ? good at Cova Caf? but was $4.60 (twice was charged only $3.45) for Americano. Did not order cappuccino in restaurant Large ship (1,950 passengers) ? no lines, easy to get around, fast convenient elevators. Smoking area well defined and outside. Extremely clean. Few announcements ? could not hear any announcements in cabin. Noon captain?s talk. Only a few announcements were in multiple languages. Room service ? menu limited. Ordered lunch four or five times, usually club sandwiches. Ordered cookies and coffee couple times. Dining room nice ? two levels. Excellent service. Salad dressing spooned on by bus boy. Ate dinner one night in Waterfall cafe (Lido) ? service was inexperienced waitress but good - expected tip $2 pp ? order from menu with a daily special, tablecloths. Normandie restaurant $30pp ? went once. Service excellent, food very good. Had to send first filet back ? overcooked and tough. Food very good overall ? service excellent, escargot and cr?me brule on menu every night. Lobster only once. Bread, hot and cold soups good. Meat was much better than fish. Waterfall cafe (Lido) for breakfast had multiple stations with cooked to order omelets and fried eggs. A station with waffles, eggs benedict and fresh fruit. An Asian breakfast station. Sticky buns. Plenty of coffee/tea stations. Excellent food. Lunch had pizza, pasta bar, stir fry, hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, salad bar. Great variety. Layout excellent so that lines were short. No problem finding seats. Waiters seldom refilled coffee and never drinks. Occasionally helped with trays. Aqua spa caf? good for healthier choices at lunch and breakfast ? egg white omelets, meat free tacos, fruit, etc. Ice cream free. Late night snacks but we did not go. Cabin stewards excellent - introduced themselves at beginning of cruise. Often saw him in hall and he always smiled and spoke. Photographers not too annoying. Conservatory with flowers Priest said daily mass in cinema. Four hot tubs. Galley tour and behind the scenes theater tour but no bridge tours (security). Other thoughts: Disembarkation fairly quick. Boarding cards did not have picture ID ? had to carry photo id off and on ship. Enrichment series lectures . Service excellent. Crew seemed genuinely happy and eager to please. Tenders were okay. Wine and drinks expensive - $7-9 and 6.50-7 (for high ball) Casino fairly large. Texas hold?em tournaments $60. For 10 players paid $300/$200. Had Norovirus outbreak. Went to ship?s doctor twice. Had IV. No charge.
fuchs saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Staff and Service
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
We very much enjoyed our cruise experience on the Summit, August 1, 2010
Reviewer: fuchs
Pros: The service in the main dining room and entertainment were excellent.
Cons: Sabbath service was not printed in the Friday daily program.
Date of cruise: July 18, 2010
Departure port: Port Liberty, New Jersey
Region visited: North America
Cabin category: Inside
Cabin number: 3102
Very nice cruise experience. Requested some kosher meals in the main dining room and that was accomodated nicely. The cruise left from Port Liberty in New Jersey. We live in Maryland. It was nice to be able to drive to the port and park our car. Accomodations and facilities on the Summit were very nice.
reba0818 saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Staff and Service
2
2
4
2
2
4
2
2
4
2
2
4
2
The ship was okay, nothing spectacular. We liked Carnival Splendor more, July 16, 2010
Reviewer: reba0818
Pros: The Aqua Spa was a nice touch, but everything else was just fair or below fair
Cons: The food in main dining room was inferior to what we've had on Carnival ships
Date of cruise: July 4, 2010
Departure port: bayonne, new jersey
Region visited: Canada/New England
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 3019
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: No
Staff on the ship was very good, the appearance of the ship was good, but the food from the main dining room was average or below...maybe the worst we have had in 10 cruises. The dining room was only open two days of seven for lunch -- actually one of those was a brunch, the other a lunch.We waited a half hour for a waiter on that one lunch day, and everyone at our table for 12 felt that our waiter had neglected to show up for the shift or a waiter hadn't been assigned to our table. We spoke to other people on the ship that were at other tables during this particular lunch and found that they encountered the same problem. We had breakfast on the 10th floor one morning, requesting an omelet. We wanted rye or wheat toast but the only bread available at that station was white bread! We had our omelet without toast that morning, hardly what I expect while on vacation. We went to the grill one afternoon for burgers. When we forgot to mention to the acting chef behind the counter that we didn't want rolls for our burger, after he'd put it on the plate, he looked at us like he would like to throw the roll at us! This was our first cruise with Celebrity, I wasn't left with the best impression of the cruise line.
skozinn saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
3
4
4
4
4
2
4
5
4
4
4
4
4
2
4
5
4
Great cruise to Bermuda, but ship was much more worn than I expected., July 12, 2010
Reviewer: skozinn
Pros: Nice layout, good food, great restaurant-the Normandy.
Cons: Very shopworn ship,hard time getting deck chairs in the shade.
Date of cruise: June 27, 2010
Departure port: Cape Liberty,NJ
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Jr. Suite
We usually go on Royal Caribbean, but decided to try Celebrity because we had heard it was a "step up". The Summit was not a step up, rather a step down from the RCCL ships we have been on. The ship is shopworn, very tired looking. There are no cozy spaces to have a drink or just enjoy the view. All the bars are very large and run into one another. It was often hard to get our drink order taken and once we had to leave to go to dinner because in 15 minutes, a waiter never came over for our order. The staff is very friendly and nice. A huge issue was getting deck chairs in the shade. There is a SEVERE shortage of chairs in the shade. They really need to do something about this. It is really a spoiler on a vacation.
loricar3 saw things this way:
Value For Money
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
Cabin Design
Entertainment
Fitness Center
Food Quality
Ship Maintenance
Spa
Specialty Restaurant
Staff and Service
5
5
4
5
5
4
3
3
5
5
4
5
5
4
3
3
5
Great cruise and destination...Bermuda., June 18, 2010
Reviewer: loricar3
Pros: Great food, Bermuda is beautiful, my kids were entertained all the time.
Cons: No more Gala Buffet.
Date of cruise: June 6, 2010
Departure port: Bayonne
Region visited: Bermuda
Cabin category: Outside
Cabin number: 2127
Good for children: Yes
Good for teenagers: Yes
The Neptunes were our favorite entertainment on the ship. They were an a capella group of four guys. My kids were entertained all day....they'd be waiting for us at the dinner table.