Celebrity Summit Review

Our Expectations Were Exceeded

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Summit
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Laffncruiser
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2011
Cabin: Ocean View 4

Ship condition: It's true. The Summit is an older ship and after ten years, showed some wear. But like an older home, this beautiful ship was waxed and buffed to a lovely luster, and we saw no evidence of the 'falling apart' comments seen on this site by other cruisers. That being said, the ship was consistently being maintained during our trip, both with cleaning and repairs/maintenance. The public areas, including restrooms and hallways were always clean in appearance and scent, and we never saw dirty elevators or trash/dirt on the floors. The only item we found of any note was stained tile grout in our shower, which was perfectly clean, but no longer pure white, due to age. Our room was clean, and our room stewart attentive and unobtrusive. Other attendants in the halls were quick to greet us and ask if we needed anything, even if they weren't our stewart. We were in one of the lowest-priced window view rooms, and felt we were spoiled and pampered. The bed was a pillowtop in excellent shape, comfortable, with clean and crisp linens, and while it was two twins put together, we couldn't feel the connector underneath. We loved the large window (vs a porthole on Carnival.) The crew shared the plans for Summit renovations slated for January 2012, and we can't wait to see her after the changes.

Service: We saw several comments about poor service, and that is simply not the case. We DID see several cruise guests treat staff extremely rudely, and saw that staff member suck it up and treat them with the utmost respect and courtesy (the worst examples: buffet line. I was saddened to see the arrogance and disrespect shown to people serving them.) It's my guess that the complainers about customer service are themselves rude and selfish people who expect to have every request obtain a 'yes' and disregard that they are treating their fellow human beings like slaves. I can't say enough about how impressed I was by the service and kindness of the staff -- even the people cleaning the bathrooms or standing at the entrance to restaurants squirting hand sanitizer (how many people would want THAT job?) were acting like the Captain of the ship, welcoming and smiling. We did not spend time in the casino, but we experienced excellence in service, a true desire to go beyond to make our time on the ship special, and at no time did we see any crew member act in a rude or arrogant way. We saw plenty of guests behave that way, though.

Food: We saw several comments on this board about the terrible food or poor dining room service. Again, our experience was stellar. We chose the select dining option, so we had three different waiters/ass't waiters and sommeliers, depending on where we were seated. All of them were professional, attentive and friendly. They remembered us by name, made excellent recommendations for the evening meal and wine to match, and our meals were timed beautifully. Even when crazy busy, they stopped for a quick smile and greeting, happy to see us again. The dining room manager also made the rounds and talked with us about the upcoming plans for the new dining on board the Summit when the refurbishing was completed. She was clearly excited about it, and loves the ship and her staff. Our actual meals were beautifully prepared, and we cannot begin to understand why anyone would say the food was awful. There were so many choices, and everything we tried was prepared well -- on occassion we tried some things we wouldn't typically order, and probably won't again, but it was a question of personal taste and not preparation. All our main courses were cooked correctly to order, arrived hot and well-garnished, and the appetizers/second courses were also nice portions and beautifully presented. The pizza and sandwich stations in the casual dining areas were absolutely yummy, and came with goodies like gourmet olives and marinated veggies -- lots of extras that wouldn't have been missed if they weren't there, but added to the enjoyment, because they were.

Cabin Review

Ocean View 4

Cabin 04

Though we were on the lowest deck for guests, we loved the location of this room. It has a large ocean view window that allowed a lot of light into the room (when curtains are opened) and gave us island views as we arrived in ports. The bed was very comfortable (two twin beds joined, but couldn't feel the connector) with clean, crisp linens, extra pillows on request, and smelled clean. Our bedding, furniture, carpet and walls were all in good conditions and very clean. Ample closet with suitcase pull-downs for unpacking, drawers under the safe and shelf, extra storage above TV for tan lotion and such. Bathroom was adequate with shelves for toiletries, tile floors. Shower had slide bar and removable handheld. Only negative: stained tile grout in shower stall, which was clean but obviously older. Shower curtain was clean and mildew free. Since the boat is being refurbished this month, I'm guessing that the baths will be brand new. Our room was located near the center of the ship, so it felt very stable, even in rougher waves. It was near the elevators, but not so close that we could hear people waiting for them. We didn't hear anyone on either side of us. We also did not hear any of the public areas above us, it was quiet and peaceful any time we were in it (with the exception of children running and screaming in the halls in the early a.m. which was a discourtesy on the part of our fellow passengers with younger children, and not something the ship crew can prevent.) We loved our room!

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