Celebrity Summit Review

Cost cutting measures obvious on Celebrity Summit

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Celebrity Summit
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tlee48
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: May 2014

Having experienced three earlier, wonderful sailings with Celebrity, I was disappointed with the numerous cutbacks in activities staff, food, bar service/wait staff, and cabin attendants on the Summit which sailed to Bermuda on May 11, 2014. The available activity staff were terrific, but they were simply short staffed and it gave the whole trip a feeling of lethargy. Cruise Director Lisa Robertson announced on the first evening that things were going to be updated and none of those old fashioned boring activities like bingo and trivia. I suppose everyone was to be amused with the casino, art auctions, or sunbathing. None of the morale building activities that create friendships among passengers were available. With regard to food, the serving hours are more restricted and passengers who hope to find some meal options a little later in the evening following a day in port will find the Ocean View cafe with very dim lights and little available. It was so dark that you couldn't even play cards or games in the area--something that is important considering that the library is tiny and there is no card room. Enough lights were dimmed in the ship that it made for potentially hazardous walking. Many passengers had taken advantage of drink packages and it soon became apparent that drinks from the bar were quite slow in arriving or never came at all--not much of a benefit. I will say that the wine stewards in the dining room did a very good job. There were several problems with my stateroom--broken refrigerator, broken bathroom exhaust fan, and an unusable safe. After 3 notifications that the refrigerator was essential for my medicine, the refrigerator was replaced at the end of day two. The safe just needed a battery and that also was repaired. The exhaust fan was never fixed and so droplets of moisture hung from the bathroom ceiling. Ice buckets were not even in place in my cabin or those of our friends. It took multiple requests for daily ice service (a listed amenity). Another irritant was the "free" 38 minutes of computer time for a 3rd person in a cabin. In actuality, you had to buy a package for $24.95 which was supposed to be refunded at the end of the trip. No where was this posted or spelled out. If you just got online and started using your computer time, then you were charged and told that you should have known to buy the package first! Considering the lack of activities, I went to the lecture on the "History of Faberge." I have never heard such PREPOSTEROUS remarks. According to the lecturer, he receives his information from Celebrity headquarters. One of his "facts" included the information that Czar Nicholas' daughter, Anastasia, did escape to Poland with one of the Imperial Faberge eggs--wrong of course. Then he said that none of the eggs in museum were real Faberge--all reproductions--wrong again. This so-called lecture was insulting to our intelligence. On the good side of our trip, I must say that I was impressed with the heavy presence of ship's officers and the Captain. He is new to the Summit, so I hope his lively manner and attention to detail will bring the Summit in line with other Celebrity ships. I also enjoyed the evening entertainment. Finally, no matter what else is wrong, what's not to like about Bermuda.

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