Appropriately named, Summit will leave you feeling as if you've reached the absolute pinnacle of premium cruising. Large in size yet intimately elegant in ambience, Summit boasts all of the services and amenities that have made Celebrity the preferred choice of avid cruisers around the world. Come aboard and scale the heights of luxury on Summit.
Ship Reviews Celebrity Cruises Summit
Summit
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4.5 (3) |
Ship Facts
| Cruise Line | Celebrity Cruises |
| Date Launched | 2001 |
| Passengers Capacity | 2,118 |
| Tonnage | 91,000 |
| Ship Registry | Bahamas |
| Passenger Decks | 11 |
User reviews
Average user rating from: 3 user(s)
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Fort Lauderdale/Caribbean Cruise Reviewed by Steve
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Wednesday 9 January ? Well we arrived at the Quality Inn at Edinburgh Airport. The plan ? to have a peaceful sleep and get to the check in desk in plenty of time after a lovely breakfast.Thursday 10 January ? Didn?t really sleep too well ? too much going through my mind and the room was a bit hot. When I came out of the shower I was aware of a loud noise coming from the main room ? it was the fire alarm! Dressed very quickly, and damply, before standing outside for 15 minutes in the cold waiting for the fire brigade to arrive and confirm it was a false alarm! Needless to say we didn?t have time for breakfast and arrived at the airport a bit frazzled ? the thing we were trying to avoid by spending the night at the hotel!! The check in desk was deserted and we got a lovely guy who thought our tale of woe was very funny ? he laughed even more when he realised Steven had ordered me a ?lactose free vegetarian meal? which he confirmed would be ?cardboard on a plate?. This was duly cancelled. He must have felt very sorry for us and after a phone call confirmed we had been upgraded to World Traveller Plus ? Business class seats but with the normal meals etc. It was a great flight out with loads of legroom ? I also had on my new flight socks and was glad to arrive in Miami with ankles that didn?t resemble an elephants! We picked up our Alamo hire car at the airport and drove up to Amerisuites in Fort Lauderdale. We had booked the hotel a year before and had been quoted a special introductory rate which they seemed to think was impossible. After some lengthy gentle persuasion from Steven we checked in after they confirmed out booking at the lower rate ? was this a taste of things to come I wonder! We freshened up, but as it was after 9pm only managed to do some shopping at Publix (like Safeway!). The guy at my check out recognized my accent and asked if I was Scottish ? he then shook my hand and said ?welcome to Florida? ? you just don?t get that in Glenrothes! By now we have stayed awake as long as we can (remembering the 5 hour time difference) and head for bed!! Friday 11 January ? Wake up early ? breakfast in the hotel. By 9am we have located a salon which stocks Aveda skincare and I part with a few dollars. By 10 am we are waiting outside the Fashion Show Mall waiting for the shops to open. A few more purchases follow. We then drive on the Costco ? where we get our radios, underwater camera etc and generally manage to spend a few hundred dollars. We then head off to the Broward Mall ? stopping for a sub at lunchtime ? quite a few more purchases made in the afternoon! We arrive back at the hotel in time to unpack, freshen up etc in time for Gail, Mitch and Zack?s arrival ? we met for the first time on our cruise to Alaska in May 2001 ? Steven and Gail continued to e-mail each other ? and when they found out we were going to be in Florida for a few days ? it was arranged they would book into the same hotel for a few days! It was really great to arrive in America and for the first time meet up with people we had met on a previous holiday! They arrive around 7pm and Gail is at our hotel door before Mitch and Zack have parked the car! It was really great to see them again - we then went out to dinner ? a lovely Italian Restaurant? and Steven tasted his first Cosmopolitan!! Gail is such a bad influence! Zack ? age 16 ? enjoyed himself drawing lovely colourful shapes on the paper tablecloth with the crayons provided by the restaurant! Back at the hotel we spend some time in the Nass?s suite ? Zack went to bed and fell asleep ? we looked at his Bar Mitzvah photo?s. Saturday 12 January ? Mitch took Zack to play in a table tennis tournament ? we hit the Sawgrass Outlets Mall ? I set off with my radio ? and Steven sets off with his personal shopper Gail! We meet up for lunch and try Nathan?s chips for the first time ? not bad! We then visited Game Works where Steven and Zack had a great time! Green Tomato buffet for dinner ? before going to Jai Alai ? basically a ball game where grown men catch the ball in a strange scooped bat and have to through the ball on the wall and the other team have to do the same thing without the ball bouncing twice ? at least I think that was it. Anyway you have to bet on who is going to win ? I did this very scientifically and managed to pick 3 winners in a row! I looked at who was playing in each game and picked the best looking one!!! Mitch and I had an early night (not together!) ? and Steven and Gail chatted and had a few drinks by the pool. Sunday 13 January ? Bagels for breakfast ? another first! Steven has a bit of a cold! Went to watch Zack play table tennis. We then drove up to West Palm Beach ? one radio in each car. We told each other Scottish and Floridian jokes all the way there ? most of the jokes terrible ? and Zack struggling with our accents! The shopping in West Palm Beach was very exclusive looking ? but we managed to find a few bargains. We had a late lunch in The Cheesecake Factory ? funnily enough for sweet we all had ? cheesecake! It was then time to say a sad farewell to the Nass?s. There were a few tears ? but we had had a fantastic weekend. Monday 14 January ? Packed our many bags and drove to the port. As we had joined the Captain?s Club we had preferential boarding. Amanda ? the social hostess ? met up with us and hoped we had a great Cruise! Steven had spent quite a bit of time prior to the holiday on the internet and had been corresponding with a number of people. We had sent a picture and this had been posted on Sandie Fitzell?s Summit web page. We had our buffet lunch in the Waterfall Café and then went to check out our inside Stateroom (8089). To our surprise we had been given complimentary Champagne and fruit. Lifeboat drill followed! When we got back to our stateroom Steven realised they had us on the wrong seating for dinner so spent the next hour running all over the ship trying to sort things out, this proved to be more difficult that it sounds. Steevn was sent to three different locations on the ship to speak to different people before ending up where he began!! Unfortunately this made us rather late for the sail away party in the Penthouse ? George and Mary Beth were also on the web page and had invited everyone along. A web cam had been set up and for the whole of the cruise so friends etc at home could log on and see where we were! We managed to meet most of the people on the web page although I have to admit I had a problem remembering all their names! The penthouse suite was unbelievable! Dinner was casual ? we met Karen, Vince (father and daughter), Suzie and Ken who were also at our table. We also met Reginald (Reggie our waiter) and Daniel (Danny the waiter?s assistant). The show in the theatre was a ?Taste of Things to Come? ? I hope not ? it wasn?t very exciting! Met Taz and Mary Anne from Canada at the Trivia. Lost a quick $10 on the slots in the Casino. Tuesday 15 January ? Arrived in Key West. Hired bikes and cycled to the southernmost point (in America). Visited Ernest Hemmingway?s house (he wasn?t in!) ? met most of the 61 6-clawed cats however ? my favourite was Charlie Chaplin with his little black moustache! Spent a little more time cycling round in circles trying to find a shop where Steven could buy some underwear! No luck! Handed back the bikes and tried one more stop across from the ship ? no underwear so Steven will have to go short (remember this story for later!) Met Dan and Sandie in the shop and went back to the ship for lunch. After lunch we got to know each other a little bit better and Steven handed over some ?Scottish? gifts! He gave Dan a Police chief?s hat ? who would have believed Dan collected hats!! I always moan when I have to find room for the hats in the suitcases! In the afternoon I had a game of bingo ? only needed 2 numbers for the jackpot, so close yet so far! Haven?t a clue what Steven did because I didn?t write it in my diary but it probably involved him creating a nice pile of dirty washing! The evening show included Acrobats who were breathtaking and a Pianist/Comedian ? jokes a bit old but still quite funny. We were both shattered so had an early night ? asleep by 10.30pm. This cruising is exhausting work. Wednesday 16 January ? We are now in Mexico! Steven went to breakfast, I had a tracker in the cabin ? sorry stateroom! Set off by taxi to Chankanab State Park in Cozumel. Had a great day lying under our little palm trees ? lovely white beach ? Steven went snorkelling ? I thought I would try snorkelling again ? my first attempt in Turkey a few years ago did not go well ? Steven had to swim out and lifesave me!!! So there I was in the water mask cleared, snorkel cleared, life jacket on just in case, hanging on to a rope attached to the shore bobbing about on the waves ? trying to convince myself I was nice and relaxed, put my head under the water ? inhaled in half the ocean ? saw about 6 lovely little colourful fish before spluttering and choking back to dry land! Hmmmm! Walked back through the park on our way back to the exit ? lovely lake with lots of plants, iguanas etc. Taxi back to the ship ? too late for lunch so had pizza instead! Back out again ? took a taxi in to the town ? very hot and busy ? a lot of building work/road works going on so a bit noisy. No purchases! Stopped off at a bar across from the ship on the way back ? lovely white/grey cat with blue eyes lying sleeping on one of the tables. Steven had 2 margueritas and predictably I had a diet coke! Dinner casual ? show was comedian Noodles Levenstein ? some jokes quite funny! Visited ?Notes? and listened to some music ? 2 ?delightful? teenagers who were quite like Beavis and Butthead were playing Chess ? thank goodness I don?t have children! Thursday 17 January ? Breakfast in our stateroom ? At sea today. I have quite a sore throat ? probably the snorkelling! Steven played table tennis (met Tom for the first time, a minister from Henderson, near Las Vegas, ? same age as Steven although I have to say looked considerably younger ? and just as mad about competitive sports), shuffle board and volleyball (which had to be abandoned as it was a bit windy and 2 balls were lost of the back of the ship not before one of then nearly gave a sunbathing passenger on a lower deck a black eye!) Steven and Tom played basketball while I bought my postcards (all 21 of them!) ? Ordered a Darjeeling and wrote my postcards ? remember to stick my little pinkie in the air when drinking my tea. We were invited to Afternoon Tea in the Fitzell?s Stateroom (Dan and Sandie) at 4pm ? this was served to us by Xavier ? their butler ? the sandwiches and cakes were delightful although I have to say I was more impressed by the fact their stateroom had a bath!! We had a lovely time together which was made perfect by watching the sunset over the ocean from the balcony! A memory to last forever! Afterwards we went with Dan and Sandie to the Normandie for dinner ? the speciality restaurant on the ship that offers 5 star cuisine and service ? our whole dining experience took 3 hours!! Thank you Michel Roux for my fantastic pudding! We met William the waiter (who reminded me of Richard E Grant) and had a truly memorable meal! William was English and a little ?upset? Dan had placed Scottish flags in a champagne glass on our table! The show tonight was songs from famous artists ? Cher, Bee Gees, Elton John etc. Friday 18 January ? Hello Costa Rica ? Steven was adamant we were getting a taxi in to town ? the guy organising the transport was adamant we were getting the shuttle. After a bit of debating ? we got the shuttle (after missing the first one!). Spent 1 hour walking around Porto Limon ? they really don?t have much but were exceptionally friendly. It was very hot to start with but then unfortunately came on very heavy rain. Shuttle finally arrived to take us back to the ship! We bought some wooden boxes etc from the stalls set up beside the ship ? for some reason Steven bought a large wooden parrot!! Back n board we had lovely pasta for lunch ? met Taz and Mary Anne again. My sore throat was getting the better of me so I went for a lie down ? although I couldn?t really rest due to a constant sound of running water coming from the back wall of the stateroom! Steven went back off the ship and walked quite a bit taking photo?s and talking to the locals. When he returned he played basketball and volleyball yet again with Tom. Informal for dinner ? only Vince and Karen. I really didn?t feel very great so had an early night. Steven danced in Revelations nightclub I believe. Woken at 3am with Steven talking on the phone asking for the noise of running water to by switched off. Ended up with someone visited the room and Steven going off to another stateroom to try to get some sleep ? I was ok due to my earplugs! Thursday 19 January ? Steven return to have breakfast in the stateroom a bit tired and grumpy (how did I know the difference I hear you ask ? good point!!!) Arrive in Colon, Panama ? leave by bus for a trip to the Panama Canal ? watch the Sea Princess go through the Gatun Locks. Message from Guest Relations saying we could move to another Stateroom due to the noise of water ? told Steven he could move if he wanted but I was not spending hours packing up all our stuff! Went to see the stateroom anyway ? number 6111 ? beautiful room with a balcony! Went back to original room and packed and moved within the hour! Went on deck to watch us leave Colon! Formal night ? Steven took about 1 hour to put on his kilt ? I wore my new gold outfit ? I left sparkle everywhere I went ? literally! Dinner at Captain?s table with George (Assistant Hotel Manager). I was seated at the top of the table but Steven was seated next to Yancy (yes that?s right ? Nancy with a Y) who was a model/dancer from Miami. Needless to say she was very pretty so Steven spent the rest of the night with a stupid grin on his face ? you would think someone would have mentioned to Yancy that her dress didn?t fit! Lets just say she wasn?t wearing any underwear and nothing was let to the imagination. Ask Steven where I was that night and what I wore and I bet he hasn?t got a clue ? although I was in some photographs that were taken ? Steven at the top of the stairs with Yancy. Me? ? yes you?ve guessed it at the bottom! Anyway the meal was lovely ? I had a pork and pasta dish - the best yet (apart from the Normandie). We were presented with a red rose and photograph to mark the occasion. Met Dan and Sandy afterwards (who were at the Captain?s table for the late seating so we could meet and thank Danny! Steven was still grinning! The show was ?Encore?. Steven fell asleep on the balcony in his Celebrity robe! Sunday 20 January ? Woke up with daylight flooding through the curtains ? will we ever be able to return to an inside cabin ? I doubt it! Steven out on the balcony at 7am taking photographs. Met Gregario ? our new stateroom attendant ? he delivered our breakfast. Docked in Cartagena, Columbia. Took Deluxe tour with Dan and Sandie ? visiting the Monestary, Fort and many emerald shops. The street traders were a little numerous and over enthusiastic! It was very hot but a very interesting trip! Bought some coffee from a street trader ? at least I hope it was Columbian coffee! Back to the ship for 1pm ? very lengthy queue to board. Lifts too busy so took the stairs. Went to the Waterside Grill for the obligatory pasta (I also had a lovely toffee apple!) The restaurant was so busy we could hardly get a seat! Visited William in the Normandie to book our next visit. Rushed up to the Penthouse ? George and Mary Beth had invited all the web page people for a drinks party ? Lee threw his white wine over Steven ? an accident I believe ? unfortunately it was the first time he had put on his new Ron Jon T shirt! Back to the Stateroom for a very quick change in order to meet the Captain for cocktail?s in the Celebrity Theatre! Ran along for dinner at 6pm followed by a blether with Norman, Be, Daryl and Tenise (who were also at the Captain?s table. Visited the Emporium to purchase a few amber pendants. Returned to the Stateroom to find Steven asleep with his mouth open with Country and Western music playing from the TV ? lets just say it?s not going to go down as one of my more pleasant experiences from the Cruise! Guess we?re not going to the show! Monday 21 January ? Arrive in Aruba. Steven gets up early and goes to the gym. Breakfast at the Waterside Grill. Meet up with Dan and Sandie and pick up our hired car. Not the best hired car we have ever had. It is only a small island and our car has accumulated 64,000 miles. Dan navigated ? which I was glad about. Unfortunately there are about 2 road signs in the whole of Aruba ? by some miracle (or Dan?s enviable navigational skills) we find the Natural Bridge. Very beautiful ? but very windy. We then drive on to a lighthouse (stopping on the way to take photographs of the cactus) ? we find a quiet little beach ? Steven goes snorkelling, Sandie and I chat and watch the numerous iguanas right beside us while Dan had a little snooze ? I thought I heard some snoring but maybe it was distant thunder. Steven arrived back and a short panic follows when we think the car keys are at the bottom of the ocean. Thankfully they were not because suddenly it came on very heavy rain and we all made a dash back to the car ? rather wet and sandy! Drive back to the main town and drop off the car and have a very civilised ?Afternoon Tea? in the Waterside Grill. Casual night at dinner. Lost another $20 on the slots while Steven had a little nap. Show at 9pm saw the return of Rob Long the Pianist/Comedian together with the Celebrity Band. The sea was quite rough at one point but eventually calmed down. Steven once again ends the day on the balcony ? lovely night ? the moon is on her back in a very starry sky. Tuesday 22 January ? Straight down at 9am for the fantastic watch sale. Bought a gold watch. Vince from our dinner table bought 6! Joined Dan and Sandie in the Waterside Grill for breakfast. I tried again at the bingo ? nothing! Steven took part in the shuffleboard tournament ? won ? I said he was competitive!! Picked up the menu from the Penthouse ? we have been invited to dinner. Steven had a quick 10 minutes in ?Notes?. Quite a few of the web page met up at the Captain?s Club Cocktail Party in Revelations. (Dan not there as he was feeling a little under the weather.) Afterwards we all went to lunch together in the Cosmopolitan Restaurant. Steven then plays basketball with Tom. I say ta ta to another £20 on the slots. (Lasted quite a while though!) Dropped off Vince?s birthday card and present (he was 75!) then headed up to the Penthouse for dinner. Had a great meal with Mary Beth, George, Mary, Bob, Anne & Jim served by Carlton the butler. Swapped Scottish gifts for some buckeye beads! A little late for the show so missed a bit of the soul singer however we heard all of Noodles. One joke ?What do you call a Jewish dilemma ? Free Ham!?. Chatted to Karen and Vince who appeared to be buying more watches. We then met Tom, Robyn, Daryl and Tenise. Went to Revelations for a little while with Dan and Sandie ? Steven was having water to drink until Jim Carroll (The Cruise Director) very kindly bought our round of drinks ? it then changed to a Pina Colada. (True Scotsman!) Wednesday 23 January ? Early start in George Town, Grand Cayman (6 other ships in port with us today!). Alarm set for 6.15am followed by breakfast in our stateroom at 6.30am. On the first tender boat with Dan and Sandie (after walking half way round the ship) ? a little surprised they were playing the Titanic song as we boarded! Found Captain Marvins and take the minibus to the boat. With 14 people on board we travel for around ½ hour ? Most people get of the boat to snorkel ? needless to say Man from Atlantis, Steven, is the first person off the boat and I decide not to bother! Sandie and Dan both had a go ? Sandie received some personal tuition from one of the guys on the boat and managed some pretty impressive snorkelling. Dan reminded me of myself in Turkey ? but at least Dan can swim! Moved on to the sand bank at Stingray City and I did get out of the boat in to the sea because my feet could touch the sand! I wouldn?t say I swam with the Stingray?s exactly ? just bobbed about beside them. I did manage to snorkel for about a minute by holding my breath under the water! We all took a turn to hold a Stingray! Steven gave them some food and we did manage to get some good photographs with the underwater camera ? one stingray decided to sit on Steven?s head! Back to the ship for a quick shower (definitely a bad hair day!) and lunch in the Waterside Grill. I caught the tender back to George Town and did a little shopping ? fudge! Very hot! Back to the ship for a little rest ? Steven stayed on board to play volleyball, basketball and shuffleboard with Tom (it later transpired all Steven?s underwear needed to be laundered so he had on my knickers ? I?m glad he didn?t have an accident that required medical attention!) Went to the Fitzell?s stateroom at 6.30pm for champagne and canapés served by Xavier the butler. The Caesar salad was tossed freshly at the side of the table ? delicious! I had the lamb to follow but didn?t enjoy it quite as much as the Chateaubriand ? had my fantastic pudding again though! Sadly William had flown home from Grand Cayman due to a family emergency! Took some photographs at the ?official spots? ourselves! Met Andrea and Mark (web page) for some more photos. Went to Broadway show with Dan and Sandie ? we are all extremely tired after our long day ? we all sat looking rather dazed and every so often realised a song had ended and clapped like 4 performing seals! Thursday 24 January ? Attended breakfast in the Waterside Grill at 9.30am. Met Sandie and went to the disembarkation seminar in the Celebrity Theatre. Everybody is a little sad today because you know the cruise is nearly over ? back to reality. Did a little last minute shopping and lost another $10 in the casino. Steven learnt how to throw an American football. Lunch with Dan and Sandie in the Waterside Grill followed by our first game of shuffleboard. Go back to the stateroom to do a little packing ? depressed! Steven and Tom are playing basketball etc followed by Steven putting Tom through his paces in the gym! I did a bit more packing - I met Dan and Sandie in the Library for a game of Scrabble ? I managed to win by getting a ?q? word on a triple word score ? first and last time for everything I suppose. Last dinner with Reggie, Danny, Karen, Vince, Susie and Ken. This is the night when you hand out the ?tips?! I did a little more packing ? bags need to be outside the door for 12. Went to the final show ? Metro, Bob Long etc followed by the Cruise video! I could prattle on a bit more about our wait at the airport follow by our seats on the return flight at the emergency exit, the woman behind me pinching all my magazines, a delightful flight attendant etc etc etc but I won?t ? my fingers hurt and Steven is getting hungry. That?s all folks!! Except ? My conclusions ? We both had a fantastic holiday ? before and during the Cruise. Deepening existing friendships and making friends with people I hope we will meet again in the not too distant future! I am a little upset however that after spending an afternoon writing 21 postcards none arrived at their destinations! |
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Summit Cruising Panama Canal
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
We sailed on the Celebrity,Summit, Feb 17, for 14 days on the Panama Canal cruise.We arrived in Miami the day before, stayed at the Hampton Inn. The hotel was clean and served our needs. EMBARKATION: We arrived at the pier at 12:30pm and very quickly went thru the line and boarded the Summit. As usual we were greeted with lovely music by the harpist and a glass of champagne. What a wonderful way to start a vacation!. For me, its the perfect beginning. A steward escorted us to our cabin. Our cabin was 7203. This was our first Concierge cabin as well as our first aft cabin. The room was very clean, the bathroom was spotless. After reading some negative reviews about the cleanliness of some cabins, I actually looked under the bed for "bunnies" and saw none. The only flaw i noticed was that our balcony floor was somewhat littered. When I pointed it out to out steward it was quickly taken care of. The room was well equipped , had plenty of space for all our needs. The champagne was well chilled and the fruit was fresh and the flowers in the cabin and bathroom were lovely. Every evening canapes were delivered. As stated by other posters, the canapes left much to be desired, so after the first day we requested the cheese and fruit plate to be delivered instead. The cheese was fabulous and for the first several days we made gluttons of ourselves enjoying it. Out steward was from Indonesia, his name was Vithal. He was excellent. He was so extremely polite, friendly and saw to our every request and need. THE SHIP: After we saw the room we went for lunch at the buffet-explored the ship. Took the tour of the spa area-always fun to do. Went to the mandatory life boat drill and then went to meet some of our friends that we met thru the boards. We met at the martini bar, many of us wearing mardi grais beads, in order to recognize one another. It was a wonderful first of many get togethers. And so nice to put a face with the people I have become friends with. Many of us tried the martini tasting sampler. Worth trying, very good and fun. Just a side note*** JOIN YOUR ROLL CALL-we have met some of the nicest people that way and have maintained many friendships. It always is a refreshing feeling to realize how many truly nice people their are in this world. The ship itself is well maintained. Extremely clean. Yes, I saw some wear but the ship is lovely. It is a very understated ship, it is not a "WOW" factor decorated ship. The crew was very careful about cleanliness, with the possibility of the noro virus- there were soap dispensers everywhere. Everywhere you went there was a smiling pleasant face, wishing you a good day. A person could get truly used to this CONCIERGE CLASS: Decided to comment on this. I have read many a post "is it worth it?". All said and done it is a matter of personal opinion. I liked the slightly larger rooms. The perks for me are not worth it. The flowers were a nice touch. The linens though fine were not pretty or plush. The towels felt good and absorbed well. The bathrobes were very thick but actually harsh and heavy feeling. Not at all luxurious feeling. The canapes were awful- the cheese was great but you can order that every day from room service from a regular cabin. The chilled champagne was lovely. The aft cabin, NOW, that was worth everything to me. DAYS AT SEA : The sea days were filled with relaxation, sun, reading good books, swimming in the outdoor pools and enjoying the other friendly, chatty cruisers. I loved my sea days, and enjoyed the slow pace, yet it would have been nice to have more of a varied offering of activities, in regards to the activities themselves and the energy levels. In m y opinion Celebrity is very lacking in this category. An example of activites: bingo, napkin folding, bingo, flower arranging, bingo........ Every sea day we made sure to go to the lectures by the cruise guest speaker. If any of you have the opportunity to hear him speak, run don't walk quickly to get a front row seat. I am not a history buff but i absolutely enjoyed this speaker. The historian's name was John Maxtone Graham and he was a true pleasure to listen to. He was informative, intelligent and very witty. A wonderful combination indeed! We purchased for $99 a pass for the two weeks to the Persian Gardens. I enjoyed this very much. Spent some time every day there-the warmth was wonderful for my aching muscles and the aromatherapy was so peaceful. Anyone with arthritis or fibromyalgia I would highly suggest this nice interlude. The changing rooms in the spa area are very clean and nice to use. Also spent an hour a day in the thallo pool and hot tubs. Nice way to relax. I like the fact that the thallo pool is for 18 years of age or older. The shops were fun to browse thru and every day they offered certain specials out in the center of the shopping area. I purchased several pieces of fun jewelry . There was always a daily raffle to try your luck. I wasn't so lucky but others were. Wanted to see a movie at the theater but never seemed to get the right time to do so. The choices seemed good. Discover shopping guide-- talks given about the best places to shop were given by Ray. Sad waste of time. The same shops are mentioned every talk---not very helpful. Supposedly Celebrity guarantees some of these stores. There has been quite allot of discussion on the boards about this and the lack of help from Celebrity when and if you have a problem with the stores. Also, they sell a "shopping book" cost $20. A HUGE waste of money. Not enough coupons or freebies to be of any worth. Idle chatting with other woman on the ship---THEY ALL felt the same way. DO NOT bother, save your money or spend it on something else.The coupons and the freebies did not come close to the price of the book.* If you are interested, ask to see a book first and see what you will use. For example on this cruise several collector coins were offered, free pair of earrings ( the stones fell out almost immediately ), and a free bottle of vanilla ( cost of the vanilla at the store was 69 cents ) SPA: The first day, as mentioned, we purchased the Persian Garden pass, the cost $99 for two weeks. Good value. Used it every day to just unwind and made the bones feel good. Also during the cruise I purchased a deep tissue massage and an aromatherapy hot stone massage. Both were very good and not a single sales pitch was given for me to buy anything else. (side note ) a very small girl gave me the deep tissue massage and my first reaction was "oh, NO !" I was so wrong-she did a great one and leaned her entire body into it. Some days when they are not busy you will see some of them at the opening to the spa offering massage for $1/minute. Great buy! I also bought a half hours worth. Wonderful ! I like the spa area. I like the look of it, the scents, and the changing rooms are very nice. More expensive then at home but- for me it was worth while. EXERCISE AREA: Every other day I used the tread mills. What a great way to exercise and look out at that beautiful ocean. MEALS : Room Service: Several days we ordered breakfast on our veranda. Every hot order came cool. Eggs, french toast, pancakes all too cool to enjoy. One day I even wrote on the menu to please make it hot. It wasn't. Cereal, granola parfait, fruit, pastries were all excellent. Lovely to have breakfast on the veranda, but suggest to stick with the cold options The regular coffee on the ship was not very good. Juices and hot tea assortment very good. Iced tea unfortunately is not brewed. I usually drink allot of iced tea but abstained on the cruise. Buffet: The buffet food was pretty good. It was buffet food... enough said . I thought the made to order options were very good- that included, for breakfast -waffles, made to order eggs, omelets. For lunch and dinner the made to order pizza, pasta and sandwiches are also very good. All the bread is homemade and excellent and the fresh fruit was a pleasure. The buffet area was always very clean-to the point of immaculate. The tables were always clean and I like the way the trays have linen cloths on them and the availability of waiters to carry your tray to the table. Nice touch. DINING ROOM: Never went to the dining room for breakfast. Much preferred eating at the far aft of the ship in the a.m. We had lunch three times in the dinning room, the first time we went the meal was wonderful the last two were good. *Check the menu at the door ahead of time and see if its to your liking ( before you commit ) We dined at the second seating, at a table for 10. Our table mates all became friends and the service was very good. Our waiter and assistant waiter seemed busier then on previous cruises and I wondered if it may be due to cut backs ( more cruisers/wait staff )?? We found most of the meals to be very good, some where excellent. I especially loved all the bread, bread sticks and pastries (throughout the ship it is excellent), the cold soups, shrimp cocktail, escargot, all the beef entries (except the rib eye ). The pastries on the ship were excellent but in my opinion the dessert after the evening meal were good but had no "wow" factor. The pasta was ordered several times by my table mates and every time it was cold ( so be forewarned )This was our first time at a table for ten, I prefer a table for 8-easier to hear everyone talk. Always a topic for discussion: "like or dislike assigned dining", I love it. I like getting to know my table mates beyond, "hi, I am from ......" and I like getting to know my waiter and assistant waiter. Adds so much to the ambiance of the cruise. Overall I think the dining room food is very good, presented very well and amazing to me that it all goes sooo smoothly. COVA: We went there every day about 4pm for a mocha, we ordered it either hot or frozen. It was always wonderful and always came with a piece of Cova chocolate. Then of course there are the pastries, nice selection and very tasty. **the coffee you have to pay for but worth it, the pastries are free. OTHER FOOD OPTIONS: the Waterfall grill, pool side -- is good. Hamburger and hot dog when I tried them were fresh, fries good. The aqua spa cafe--excellent. Everything we tried was good. Dont over look this area. You will be missing out. Evening sushi-- I am not a sushi gourmet but i really enjoyed it very very much. Gourmet bites---the ones I tried were all very good. Never went to any of the evening buffets since we never left the dining room till almost 11pm each night. We enjoyed the slow dining, good conversation. Afternoon tea-- went only once-very good but instead we went to the cova cafe. CASUAL DINING: Never ever have I tried this on my previous cruises. But, this was the longest cruise I ever took so we tried it twice. Once went with friend from the roll call and once with our table mates. It was excellent. And even better service then at our regular table. The waiters were actually falling over us. Try it. NORMANDIE: I booked a table for 8 of us prior to sailing. It was a 5 star meal and service. Wonderful experience! Had the goat cheese souffle, chaetaubrian (sp?), and the chocolate mousse. The cheese selection looked sooo good but I could not do it! I was rolling out of there. Well worth the extra $30. * to me its a must do. ENTERTAINMENT: The Celebrity singer and dancers were excellent. They were given standing ovations. These kids were very talented. On previous cruises they were not as good. I was so glad we got to experience these excellent young singers and dancers. The other evenings varied with the entertainment. Some were good others so-so. The pool side band, GREAT IDEAS, were very good. Wished they played more often. Singer and guitar player, Jefferson Ang, was excellent. Many times he played late at night on the 10th deck in the aft. We would lounge on our balcony, sipping a drink, looking out at the stars and enjoying his music. Does not get much better then that! The string quartet , the Prelude Strings were excellent. Also very much enjoyed the A Cappella group, the Dischords. Cute group of boys. The only entertainer that I tried to restrain myself from bursting out laughing- he was sooo awful was the man who sang at the Rendez-Vous lounge. I am sorry, he reminded me of a cheesy lounge singer, with a dark black hair piece. UGH!!!! COME on Celebrity---you can do much-much better Misc. shipboard entertainment, as mentioned before was --so-so....eg. napkin folding, flower arranging and allot of bingo. I would like to see more offered and much more variety. This was my 4th Celebrity cruise in a row and will have to try a different line just for a variation of on board entertainment. In some ways it was almost non existent. I dont really know who they were gearing it too. I am 52. Most of the cruisers were in their 40's to late 60's. My aunt is 77, and was dismayed by the lack of varying entertainment. FORTUNES CASINO: Went every evening after dinner and contributed to the Summit "charity". Actually I should not joke. I spent $20/night ( that was my limit )and I actually won twice on the quarter slots. I then donated the cash to the jewelry store on the ship. POOLS: Two pools outside. One deep, the other shallow. four hot tubs. Enjoyed them all. Wish the hot tubs would be still open late at night-lets say till 1a.m.-unfortunately that is not the case. The thallo pool is under a glass dome, with two hot tubs. I love this pool and enjoyed it daily. Children under 18 not allowed. Very nice. It slightly heated, has jets for massaging- do not over look this area. Especially nice after the first dining group has left to prepare for dinner. PORTS: ARUBA- prior to sailing I had booked a spa day at a local hotel. We have been to Aruba before and enjoyed the sites. The spa day was lovely, we then enjoyed a lunch at one of the local restaurants, and a bit of shopping. I bought two small sapphire, white gold rings for my daughters (for their souvenir )So glad I did. The other ports did not have near as good of buys. PANAMA CANAL- We decided not to leave the ship and just experience the canal from morning till evening. We got up early to go to the front of the boat to see the ship entering the first lock. What a phenomenal experience! Then we spent a good portion on the aft balcony-seeing where we have been and watching other boats enter the canal. We were very lucky as we had a lovely breeze all day. Gatun lake was lovely. I took dozens and dozens of photos. Attending the lectures by the ship historians was a great way to gain insight as to how many sacrificed and even died to accomplish the building of the Panama canal. What a wonder! I was so honored to be able to experience it all. PUNTARENAS,COSTA RICA- We booked pre cruise with Charlie Soto. Read many good recommendations about him. Several years ago we toured with Oscar Brown on the Limone side. We very much liked Oscar. Thought Charlie would be as good. Perhaps those who thought Charlie was great had no one to compare him to. He was ok. You could do as well with a taxi driver . Charlie had no micrphone set up, so those in back could hear nothing. Also Charlie did not give a "talk" while driving us around. I knew allot about CR because of Oscar but if I did not have previous knowledge I still would not. We saw cute monkeys, and a Chapel. Went on the Crocodile Man tour, This was very good. Saw tons of wild life-the men who took us on this tour gave a great talk and pointed out allot of things to see. Charlie did purchase and share with us some fruit. It was by far the best watermelon and mangoes any of us ever tasted. We also went to a grocery store to buy coffee and vanilla. Ahead of time we told Charlie that we wanted to purchase bean coffee. When we got there, there was only ground coffee, Charlie knew this. So, that side trip was a waste of time because ALL of us wanted the bean coffee. We did purchase the whole beans at the pier. An episode that occurred : Charlie passed a truck on a double line going up a blind grade. Scared the hell out of all of us. Being careless is not worth the five minutes of getting to Point A faster. OK tour but after talking with other passengers they did better with private taxi drivers that they met. HUATALUCO- This was a beautiful little island that i very much enjoyed seeing. We booked a bay tour with a man named Jesus. His little boat, 25 foot Panga boat was very clean. Had a tarp type cover to keep the sun from baking down too much. The boat holds 8 guests. Jesus and his co-sailor offered an iced cooler with water, beer and pop. He charged $150 for a 5 bay tour and $200 for a seven bay tour. The cost is the same for two or eight passengers. Very reasonable when we divided the cost between all of us. We were able to see his beautiful bays. He talked about the area. Very informative. We chose to also swim and snorkel and have lunch .The restaurant was on the beach, all the food was seafood, no other items where offered.( side note ) if someone on the tour cannot eat fish or does not like it, you should discuss this with Jesus ahead of time. We had cold beers and a wonderful shrimp salad . I bet there was at least a pound of shrimp on that plate. It was impressive enough that we had to take a picture. At that spot various vendors approached us attempting to sell there wares (silver bracelets, beads, food.) When we said we were not interested-they were respectful of that. The swimming was wonderful-the water was so warm and you could see to the very bottom. Lovely! Dont miss this opportunity ! ACAPULCO- We booked a day with Rosie , the taxi driver, before the cruise. Per recommendation of the ports of call board. Our ship was not in this port that long so our tour was slightly shortened. Rosie gave us as much as she could fit in. She is very professional, her van is clean, air conditioned, and she has a microphone hook up so all could hear her talk. She was very knowledgeable and a very safe driver. We saw the beaches, the main strip, hotels, and where the affluent lived. We shopped for awhile, saw a beautiful chapel, and had a lovely lunch at a local restaurant on the beach. Best fajitas that I ever had. We were the ones that asked Rosie to take us shopping-I would skip this next time-the shop prices where high and I could tell that Rosie was trying to take us to reasonable places. ( the cost of silver---we can do better in the States ) Also saw the cliff divers. AWESOME !! * Good choice CABO- This is another tour that we booked ahead of time. It came with rave reviews and we agree, We boarded the Rissalena, a white catamaran. The cost was $50/person. The captain of the boat is Mr. Eduardo Padilla. He is very professional, as is his crew. The cat is pure white and in immaculate shape. We were treated to a lovely day of cruising, whale watching and a great homemade lunch, not to mention a fantastic homemade margarita. The best we ever had. They also offered beers, soda pop and juices. The lunch consisted of very tasty chicken, rice and pasta salad, fresh fruit and homemade guacamole and chips. We were in Cabo during whale season. we were lucky to see some but what we also got to see was a large group of dolphins ( about 20 of them )that followed the boat. Very cool, indeed ! This tour I would highly recommend. * the boat holds about 20-22 people. ( Side note ) If your group does not use the entire boat, he will book others to sail with you. Cabo is a lovely area to view from the cat and also to take awhile and walk around, shop and have lunch. Lovely day. This was my first 14 day cruise. The first week flew by so quickly. We were glad to have the extra days to enjoy and relax. Little touches that Celebrity does that I love: -iced wash cloths waiting for us, on silver trays, as we are coming back to the ship after a day in port -on sea days, at the pool around 2pm, waiters in full dress carry on silver trays cups of homemade sherbet -all cruise staff being so smily and polite and welcoming -bed turn down and chocolates waiting for me on the pillow DISEMBARKATION: went very smoothly.We sat in the movie theater and coffee and pastries were available for us to cry over since we all have to go back to the real world. It amazes me that as we are leaving, in a short few hours, the Summit will be starting all over and welcoming their new guest with a smile and a glass of champagne and giving you that knowing feeling that you are the "only" and the "first and most important" cruiser they have ever had IMPRESSIONS: Excellent vacation. Money well spent, with excellent value. I want to try a different cruise line ( for more on board and varied entertainment )but I will eagerly look forward to my next Celebrity cruise in the future. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask Natalie |
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Hawaii Cruise on Summit
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Reviews submitted by member:On May 11, I left for Honolulu from Milwaukee via St. Louis on American Airlines - I ended up on a TWA plane which did not have the extra legroom in coach like American has. I arrived in Honolulu about 4:00pm (9:00pm at home) to find it was raining...this was to be a theme for most of my time in the islands. Took a taxi to my hotel in Waikiki where I met up with some friends. We walked down the street to a small local restraunt where we had a light supper - and our little group ran into some more friends....we did a little shopping then headed back to the hotel to crash for the night. Sunday was spent driving around Oahu - we went up past Diamond Head up the coast to the North shore where we stopped at Sunset Beach and the Bonzai pipeline - the waves were not to spectacular that day, and it was starting to drizzle a little. We then drove down through the center of the island back to Honolulu and Waikiki. That night we went to the Hale Koa (a couple of friends were staying there) for their Sunday night buffet (which just happened to be on Mother's Day). After dinner we walked over to the Hilton Hawaiian Village where we surprised a couple of people - they had been planning this cruise for over 9 months and we had all said there was no way we could make it, but we decided about 6 months out to book the cruise and try to surprise them...and we sure did! As we were walking back to our respective hotels that night we got caught in a downpour....not a quick tropical shower, but this rain lasted all that night and til about noon on Monday. Monday was the day we boarded the Summit - we got to the pier around 11:00AM - we had to wait in line til about 11:30 to be let into the building to begin checking in.....i can truly say my friends, April and her mom CeeCee, Doug, John, Pat and Don were within the first 30 people in line - we went through the check in process and were on board by 11:45am. April, CeeCee and I went to check out our cabin - we had a cat 1A (9154) on Sky Deck - it was the last cabin on the starboard side before the aft cabins. We were pleasantly surprised with the cabin - 191 sq feet - it had a king size bed and a double bed that pulled out from the sofa bed. There was ample closet space; two of the closets you were able to hang your clothes and store some stuff on the bottom of the closet. The third closet had shelfs and drawers in it - 6 pull out drawers, and three shelves - one of the shelves held the safe - you could operate the safe either by putting in a code or using a card with a magnetic stripe. Three bathrobes and three beach towels were in the cabin when we arrived along with two flower arrangements sent to us by some friends. I guess now would be a good time to talk about food and dining options on the Summit. There were 15 in our little group within the larger group - two had chosen early seating, the rest of us chose late seating. Those of us on late seating (except for one couple) were at a table for 12 on the first floor of the Cosmpolitan dining room. Our waiter, Ronald and his assistant Christian, had to be the best servers I have had on seven cruises. Nothing was a problem for them - all special requests were met with a smile, and we never had to ask for anything a second time. One of my tablemates had requested mashed potatos on the first night we all sat at the table - they brought out two plates of them that night - we just kept getting more and more mashed potatos every night. First night of this cruise, we did not sail til midnight, so it was open seating for both early and late seatings...as some people were still arriving at the ship during supper. I found the food in the dining room for supper on the Summit to be better than the food we had on the Millennium in February 2001 - everything was done to perfection. Beef, fish, veal and chicken were all very good and the desserts (especially the chocolate ones and the ice creams) were to die for! AS for breakfast inthe dining room - all I can say is stick with the eggs and danish - the pancakes and french toast left something to be desired. I only ate one lunch in the dining room and it was ok - nothing really special. For breakfast I found the food in the Waterfall Cafe to be much better - a great selection of fruits, meats, potatoes, salads, desserts, breads. Also in the Waterfall, in the morning there was an omelet station, which at lunch turned into a pasta station. There was also an area that at lunch had a themed buffet each day - Italian, German, American, etc. There was also ice cream and frozen yogurt available during lunch and the afternoon. The Waterfall grill was open for burgers and hot dogs and fries. This turned over to pizza after 3:00pm and was open til 7:00pm. You could also get pizza from the room service menu from 3:00 to 7:00pm and again from 10:00pm to 1:00am. There was also room service available 24 hours a day and also a special breakfast menu from room service besides the continental breakfast menu that you could put on your door at night. Oh, and how could I forget about the Normandie restraunt? A group of 4 of us dined there one night - I had alway been one to question why people would pay for eating at an alternative restraunt - I know the answer now - it was fabulous! The chateaubriand I had literally melted in my mouth and the chocolate souffle was exquisite. The service was perfect. I would dine there again in a heartbeat. I must also say that the crew on the Summit was much friendlier than the crew on the Millennium in 2001 - everyone I ran into smiled and said "Hello", or "Good morning - How are you today?" Nothing was a problem except at the purser's desk...and they were usually very pleasant too, but some passengers did run into some problems with them. As for the ports, our first stop was Kauai; and let me tell you Kauai is beautiful - it is probably more beautiful if it would stop raining once in a while! A couple of friends and I rented a minivan and drove up the the east coast of the island all the way up to Ke'e beach, where between raindrops, we saw the Bali Hi Mountain of South Pacific fame and the start of the NaPali cliffs. We also stopped in Hanalei and had lunch at Bubba Burgers...man they were good! We also stopped in Princeville to do some shopping; the sun actually did come out for about half an hour - the clerk at the store said it was the first time in 2 weeks that the sun had come out - we had been hearing on the news about the unusually heavy rains in the islands, but there was a lot of flood warnings that were issued while we were in the islands. One thing though, the waterfalls on the island were spectacular! We also stopped at Kilauea lighthouse and Opaekaa Falls. Next we headed to Lahaina, Maui...we were there for two full days. This was the one stop where we actually had sunshine! The first day some of our group rented a convertible and did the road to Hana; one friend and I rented a minivan and drove up to Kapalua and down back through Lahaina down to Maalea and up to Wailuku - stopping up at the Iao needle and the Tropical plantation. We then drove back up through Lahaina up to Kaanapali and to Whaler's Village where we had lunch and did some shopping. That night, some of my friends stayed on board the ship and dined at the Normandie restraunt, while the rest of us went to the Old Lahaina Luau - the food was fair, the drinks were ok, the show was pretty good, but the best attraction that night was the sunset! The next day in Maui - we were all off the ship well before 6:00am - we had booked independent snorkeling and diving tours - the snorkelers went out to Molokini and snorkeled there - on the way out we saw sea turtles and on the way back we were entertained by a dolphin that decided to play with the catamaran. Next stop was Kailua-Kona on the west coast of the big Island of Hawaii. Some of us did a ship's tour that day - went to a painted church, to a Kona coffee mill, and to Puuhonua o Honaunau National Park - it was a place of refuge where those who had angered the Gods or had broken some taboo came to to find absolution. By the way - it rained again that day. Our last day in Hawaii was spent in Hilo...where we had expected it to rain as it is the second wettest city in the USA, behind Ketchikan, Alaska. It rained off and on all day, but those who had booked helicopter tours were able to do them. I had chosen to do Volcanoes National Park - we did the Crater rim drive. This place is not to be missed. You can actually tell where the different flows of lava are and you can see how nature begins reclaiming the land. We also went to the Thurston Lava Tube and we stopped at the Mauna Loa Macadamia nut factory. As we sailed away from Hilo that night, we started our 5 straight sea days.....that was the roughest night of the cruise, the ship was moving at 23.5 knots and it was very rough that night. The first two days at sea were wonderful - sunny and warm enough to sit out in the sun and relax. The next two were cloudy and very cool. Our last sea day started out that way, but by 2:00pm we had spotted the coast of the US and the sun came back out - down near the pool out of the wind it was more than warm enough to get some more sun. That afternoon and evening we sailed in to and up the Straights of San Juan de Fuca - that evening we had a great view of Mt. Baker before we turned north to heads toward Vancouver. This are of the Pacific northwest is absolutely beautiful. After 11 days on the ship we arrived in Vancouver friday am, May 24th. I was off the ship by 9:40am - to the airport by 10:45, and checked in for my return flight on Northwest (I really don't like flying Northwest) by 11:00am. I arrived home after 9:00pm that night and found out I was still on Hawaii time.....and still very laid back from my cruise and my trip to the islands. There were a couple of negatives on this cruise and it related to some misinformation that Celebrity printed in the Summit Daily. The most important one happened on our second day in Maui. Some of our group had to be down in Kihei by 6:15am and the rest of us had to be in Maalea by 7:15am. Celebrity was running a tender all night long - according to what was printed in the daily the night before, the tenders were to leave the ship for the shore on the half hour (ie: 4:30 and 5:30am) and leave the shore for the ship on the hour (5:00am and 6:00am) - well when we got down to the tender embarkation area, they told us that that was wrong...well, let's just say after showing them what was printed in the daily and trip up to the pursers' desk (which really was wasted as the girl got the "deer in the headlights" look when we approached her) they called the tender back to pick us and the others who had gathered to catch the 5:30 tender - we got on shorejust before 6:00 am - and we found out that those of our group who had shown up for the 4:30am tender had to go through the same thing. Not everyone single one of us who showed up on the half hours could be wrong - a case of one hand not knowing what the other was telling the passengers. There was also an incident in one of the tender ports where some crew members who were returning from personal time on shore literally pushed passengers out of the way to get off the tender first - it was totally uncalled for and someone could have been injured. I know that the passengers had requested a meeting with the staff Captain to address these issues - I don't know what the result of that meeting was. Also, and this is just a personal thing, I think the itinerary needs a sea day in the middle of all those island days, just to let everyone rest and recharge - we were exhausted by the time we got to our first sea day. This was absolutely one of the best vacations I have ever had! |
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