Celebrity Summit Review

4.0 / 5.0
2,477 reviews

Sadly Disappointing

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Summit
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Srutz1
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Mar 2010

We are a couple in our mid 30's and have cruised with Carnival and Princess. I heard Celebrity was "upscale" and on par with Princess cruise lines. Perhaps on the new Solstice, but not on the Summit, sorry. SHIP:The Summit is almost 10 years old, at the end of a cruise ship's life and this ship should be docked soon. Reviews are true, this ship is quite dated, and not just a stain or two on a carpet. The pool area is less than desirable, deck chairs are old, stained, some broken. Pool is small. The main buffet has old tables, chairs, carpet etc. Understandably so, as it is likley the most used area on the ship. The interior of the ship is nicer ie. theatre, lounges etc. and the fitness centre is big. The ship is smaller than others so you WILL feel the waves rocking the boat moreso than bigger ships. But realistically, we only paid $445 pp for the cruise....you get what you pay for. CABIN: we had an interior stateroom. Nice, clean, 600sq foot. If you want to travel light, bathroom has soap, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, q-tips, cotton balls. You Do not need to bring beach towels, the ship has nice big ones that are always in your room to take to the beach daily. Ladies, BRING A HAIRDRYER or you will have to use the ships's hairdryer that resembles the end tube of a vaccuum cleaner. No iron or ironing board. Ship has umbrellas. Get room in the middle of the ship. Less rocking felt. FOOD: There is an abudance of food but the quality is not necessarily great, particularly in the buffet. There is variety, but the taste is nothing more than high end cafeteria food. The Cosmopolitan restaurant is good. We didn't pay extra for the Normandy specialty restaurant so I cannot comment. However the food all comes from the same kitchens so I can't imagine it being anything special worth paying extra for. What Celebrity is known for is great service and this is true. You won't need to lift a finger, the staff is phenonenal! We took the cruise mainly for the itinerary. San Juan-Beautiful! Cobble stone streets, looks like old Mexico or Portugal. Unique jewellery, crafts etc. and also has known stores such as Burbury, Coach, Guess outlets. It rained on the day we arrived but we saw the town on the day we were leaving. Pay the extra $20pp to have valet service check your bags from the cruise ship to the airport for you and you will also get your boarding pass for your flight the night before. No airport lineups! Remember, you will disembark the ship quite early in the morning. Most people were off between 9-10am so if you have an afternoon flight, you have plenty of time to take a cab from the ship into town ($12) and from town to the airport which takes 15 minutes and is ($19). St, Martin-the shopping mecca of the Carribean. Mostly jewellery, tax and duty free so if you see something you like, buy it! Stay on French side, shopping is better. Beach is right near the shops, all is in walking distance. Dominica-Yuck! Sorry. No white sand beaches anywhere. Locals will tell you there is a "nice beach" but not even close to what you will see on other islands. So if you want to do something like a rainforest excursion, do it on this island because there is little else. No real shopping. Grenada-Stunning! Beautiful beaches, nice scenery. Shopping is near the cruise port. Island is known for spices, mainly nutmeg. Tobago-Pigeon Beach is also nice but it is a smaller, cove like beach and it will be busy if everyone from the ship is there at once. Not much shopping on this island. Barbados-beautiful beaches also. Can go to a local beach near shopping in Bridgetown (very metropolis/city like) or take a cab to different parts of the island ie. St. James beach is further up the coast about 15 minute drive. Go see the Crane resort and Crane Beach about 30 minutes away. It is the 5th ranked most beautiful beach in the world. However its onthe Atlantic side of the island so it won't be as calm to swim. Warning for shopping. Don't necessarily go to all the stores that the cruise line shopping guide recommends. She, and the cruise line get commission from the sales made in these stores by cruise passengers. There are beautiful items at independant stores also. Enjoy

Cabin Review

Interior cabin is best in the middle of the ship. Less rocking felt from the ship. Interior room is dark and quiet.

Bathroom is nice size, shower is bigger (rectangular, not square so more spacious).

Bad bad hairdryer.

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