Celebrity Summit Review
Hurricane season! Was not prepared for the foul weather.
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Additional details
We drove to the port the day before which was a good thing since the Captain decided to leave 2 hours early to try to get ahead of Tropical Storm Hermaine. Celebrity contacted us on my cell phone with a robo-call, by text, and with an email. I talked with others who never received notice. Many folks were checking the website to find out if there was any news, but for some reason Celebrity didn't have anything. It really should have been in big letters as soon as you logged on! (We went through Trinity Reservations and got a "Park and Sail" package that was a get deal. Since parking at the pier is $19 a day, paying $209 to stay at the Ramada Newark Airport, leave our car there for free, and get transportation to and from the pier seemed like a bargain to us.)
We continue to sail Celebrity because it is a cut above similarly priced cruises; and as Elite Captain's Club members we get a lot of benefits. Having said that, it's never as good as the last cruise. There seem to be fewer and fewer service staff to passengers, so it often takes a while to find a clean table in the Oceanview or find a bar server when you want a drink. Since so many people are taking advantage of the drink packages (whether they buy them or have them included in their cruise purchase) there is less incentive to sell drinks. In the theater at night there were maybe 2 or 3 servers on the upper level. We'd often just get a drink at one of the other bars and bring it in with us since it was quicker. When in Canada, they're only allowed to have 1 bar open per deck, so that made it even more difficult. If we wanted a beer or soda with lunch, we'd order before we got our food--otherwise the food was gone or cold before you got your beverage.
As vegetarians we're pleased they have a separate menu for us, but I can't say the food is terrific. So much of it seemed tasteless. I don't think they salt most food, maybe figuring you can add salt yourself; but I really believe you need to add flavor while you're cooking, not just after it's on the plate. I heard the same criticism from others, so I know it wasn't just me.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean View with Balcony 2B
Not a great location for someone who gets seasick? It's the highest deck and almost directly behind the bridge. We had rough seas the first full day, so we got both the side to side and forward to aft pitching. Ick! They don't consider it an obstructed cabin, but there's a large overhang above the balcony, and the solid wall to the bridge one cabin forward. But with the cold, rainy, foggy sea days we had, we didn't get to use the balcony much at all. I really wished I bought an oceanview on 2 or 3 instead.