I chose Celebrity because I had taken the Millenium in Alaska 4 years ago and the experiences was over the top. I love cruising, as it's the only vacation where Mom doesn't have to lift a finger! I invited 3 of my gal relatives (and one who had never cruised before.) I guess the build up in my mind raised my expectations too high. I SO wanted my three sisters/cousins to become as enthused about cruising as I am! (Selfishly.) The new refurbish on Summit is terrific. Decor restful and tasteful (not garish Las Vegas!) We had a Veranda room and our beds were divine and we slept very well. The bathroom was super clean and outfitted with the latest bath decor. We took coffee on the veranda each morning and G&Ts each night! A small thing, but our favorite part of the day. I won't ever cruise without a veranda. We did a SPA package which allowed us to eat at Blu, which we loved and did about half the time. It also lets you use all the spa amenities, which was really nice. Only annoyance was that not one of our special spa products had a pump that worked. We had to unscrew the lids and dump out the soap, lotion, etc. Given that the Spa package is kind of a 'thing' this was odd. Odder still was that our Steward never did replace the products with pump bottles that worked even though it was obvious (because we left all the pumps sitting out.) Our Steward was wonderful but unobtrusive. We didn't do a lot of chatting with him but when we asked for something (like extra ice) we received it promptly and then each day thereafter. The only hiccup was we ordered room service hors d'oeurvres one night and they never arrived. All of the ship staff was wonderful, helpful and personable. From the cleaners to the stewards, servers and offices, not one person failed to greet me when we passed. We tipped our steward extra. The food on the ship was good, but not outstanding, and not up to what I had on the Millennium. Can't quite figure this out. Are there different 'levels' even inside Celebrity?And it was not as good as what I had on a Med cruise on the Royal Princess. We ate at Qsine one night, and again the menu and the food did not 'Wow' us. The dinner visual experience was quite cute and fun. Great also if you have children. The menu selections, creativity, and the quality were just not there. This was a disappointment, especially since I had talked up the culinary experience. If you are gluten free, however, you do have LOTS of options, so don't fret if you have special dietary needs- the folks are very accommodating. You can even pre-order in the dining room the night before to make sure your needs are met. The shows were entertaining and I liked each one very much. Just know, NOT the same caliber as on the larger ship which have more room, more budget, etc. On our trip leaving Feb 8, 2020, the sea was rough due to wind when we sailed at night. This was the first time in 5 cruises I had experienced this. I don't get seasick, but two of my companions do, so they were on Dramamine much of the time. Summit is a smaller older boat, so perhaps the stabilizer technology is better now on the bigger newer ships. If you get seasick, pick a larger newer ship. My opinion on the Caribbean in general - it's a beach and water vacation. And the beaches and water are truly gob-smacking.If you don't like those two things, there is really NOT much to see on each island. These are not destination stops. The excursions offered by Celebrity are limited - either a bus 'panoramic' tour, or boat excursions. If you opt for a snorkeling tour, the actual time snorkeling is very limited. And the top thing Celebrity urges you to do is shop. Mostly in jewelry stores! (Note, if you buy jewelry, be sure to try and research the piece you are buying via the internet before you purchase. The stores appear to mark the item up x2, and then advertise a 'sale' of 50% off (and push the duty free, tax free thing.) I found the exact same jewelry at the same price on the internet sold here in the states. Buy to have a memento, but don't assume you're getting a great 'deal.' I love snorkeling, so that's what I opted for in each port. However, I researched and opted for tours on Trip Advisor, and Viatour and ended up getting much longer snorkeling with multiple stops and locations.. Don't hesitate to use these sites; our three water tours were wonderful and our tour guides and zippy boat rides were the best part! Just know that the area's reefs have been hard hit between hurricane damage and warming waters. They are bleached and widely dead. Yes, we still saw pretty fish, coral, turtles, stingrays etc. But brilliant underwater colors are not evident and not what I remember from snorkeling in the Caymans 20 years ago. Other travelers are correct - once you get outside the port, the poverty is evident. Once must remember that what passes for middle class on some islands looks a bit tattered to us. That said, this is true when I travel almost anywhere in the world. America is truly the land of plenty. I tried to tip very well, as most operators rely on tips to make their earning, as the parent firm they work for takes a big swath of the fee you paid for the tour. In all, for me, my next cruise will be on a newer bigger boat that I assume receives the most lavish attention from Celebrity. I am trying to be a 'loyal' cruiser which means extra perks every time you cruise. On this trip I received $300 onboard credits, and then when we arrived, surprise..75 more! I shared these with my friends. On Celebrity, these can be used for just about anything - store purchases onboard, your drink package, specialty dining, your gratuities, massages or other special activities. AND, if you don't use them all, they are credited back to your credit card as cash!! So the cruise lines really reward loyalty, which, along with great offers on rooms, creates the best travel value around. So, did my three travelling companions swear to cruise again? Yes/maybe with a lot of caveats. Not because of anything that went wrong, per se, but because of personal preferences. One cousin really doesn't like crowds, and one sister gets seasick and another sister might prefer better ports of call. Read Less

Celebrity summit feb 8-15 2020 (writing review on last full sea day off tomorrow) we are couple in low 50's first time on celebrity. our kids are grown, just the two of us booked a year ago on smaller ship but biggest room penthouse suite: read review of room we do separately. flew in day early to San Juan and stayed at el convento nice and local but not 5 star but I liked local flavor toured around city and ate local food was nice to rest before rush to port next morning suite: amazing. received so many amenities see later anu was our butler and Redford our cabin attendant both are amazing and stellar dining: luminarie: for suite only. zouhaier maitre d' amazing. all wait staff team and beverage person amazing. order off their special menu or can get anything from the MDR. they will get you anything within reason that is not on the menu that night. bar service was fabulous. the maitre d' went above and beyond to take care of us and check on us. we never waited more than 5 minutes. service impeccable. room service: every day our butler served us in room. mostly we ate on dining table on veranda for the view and sun. always very good but we dont eat heavy breakfast most of time. service always on time and good with warm food. only breakfast we tried and planned the night before for food and time and was perfect. tuscan grill: ate their twice. service fantastic and maitre d also amazing. never waited. all specialty were included on our suite. meat and pasta wonderful. sommelier was amazing even though I was novice he picked the wines for me. le petit chef: superb service and meal. the light show on our dinner plates before each course was just amazing. you will have to google it to watch it. lots of fun and made the meal even more fun. we had lobster and steak etc just wonderful. two menu options only so choices might be limited for some but not us. didn't try any others shore excursions: 1. st Thomas: we did the land and sea. good but we had been before and seen it. did shopping downtown. 2. st kitts and nevus: major shopping we had planned month or more in advance with diamonds international and the port shopping team director Vince helped us in advance. we had specific diamond and watch desires and the DI store had everything ready and prepared for us in advance knowing our wants. they had VIP lunch served in store for us. we mad some very nice purchases at great prices! by researching ahead of time they had variety of options for us at that store to choose from. it was awesome. then we did rail car toor and catamaran tour. wonderful to learn about the country and really enjoyed this 3. st Lucia; had been 15 months prior so shopped on port for couple hours. used it as a recovery day and relaxing day on our deck jacuzzi and lounge chairs. calm afternoon after morning port time. very nice Rolex store (harry jewelers). 4. antigua: land and sea tour and looked at shops in port. toured st johns capital and others. learned a lot. had great lunch on the catamaran part of tour. team really friendly with food and drinks included. 5. barbados: never been. best tour of all. wild safari 4x 4 and wildlife preserve. my wife and I love animals and we saw the feeding of the monkeys and many other animals. you can get right up close and great photos. we saw lots of other animals goats/sheep elsewhere on the island. saw rhianna the singer from Barbados birth home and current home and the only 5 star resort in Caribbean is on this island (tiger woods married there) and we saw outside of this. port team: cant say enough about Ricardo and Veronique who helped us a lot. they have VIP cards and really help get the prices down quite a bit. and no tax or duty! the main thing in the Caribbean is that you have so much to choose from. it was valentines cruise for us and my wife wanted some earrings and we had huge selections to choose from. the two ship port shopping team members assisted us and taught us so much about making good decisions, who to buy from, and what was a good deal or not. thanks to them! entertainment: on ship we went to one hour show every night. it was very good but not as good as some other ships. we still enjoyed it. two nights were comedians, one night dueling twin brothers on violins, one night celebrity song/dance show, one night three NYC singers and tonight we haven't seen yet. we enjoyed them all but remember not 2 hours broadway shows like some ships have (still very good) we didn't go to bars had all package and room fully stocked with alcohol as needed didn't go to classes, bingo, etc with 5 out of 6 sea days no time for other stull we were on island all days most of time there was music everywhere and seemed nice but we didn't do much else went to one lecture on last day about crew life which was educational didnt use much of ship because our room amazing we wanted time off work, catch up time, personal time fair amount of other activities we just didnt use movies, bars, bingo, classes, etc gym: I used every day smaller than other ships I have been on but great for me just usual stuff I didnt do classes etc services on ship: we received the 4 perk which was great inlcluded wifi, drinks, gratuities, onboard credit that was great. our cabin had other perks like included all dinner locations and more we had full laundry service, beverage, dining embarkation: get there early in in suite! do not go at 12 or later DO NOT WAIT IN LINE. look for priority boarding for suites we got put on in 5 minutes after we found suites attendant in port area we got on 1130 No guarantees but could get on by 11am or sooner disembark: not done yet still on ship we have late flight at 330pm so getting off last at 9am or so eating last day at Luminae at 8am close on final day smaller ship but we liked this easy to get around get to know people would go again. very nice remodeled ship march 2019 and looks great everyone was so friendly !!! 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ABOUT US: This was our first Celebrity cruise, although we’ve been on numerous cruises before, primarily on Royal Caribbean ships. We are late-50s/early-60s and we prefer Royal’s smaller Radiance Class ships. Since Summit is that same size and we loved the itinerary, we decided to give Celebrity a try! EMBARKATION: I’d downloaded the app, filled out the on-line registration and had my express pass both on my phone and printed out. We arrived at the pier around 11:00. They began letting people into the terminal around 11:30 and the process was super fast. The odd thing was that they snapped our photos with a tablet. We’d uploaded photos and I could clearly SEE they were on the staff member’s device, but they took new ones. Not sure why. We were offered champagne as we boarded. Neither of us really LIKE champagne, but it felt so classy! I really like that they let you go straight to your cabin and drop off your stuff. That’s a HUGE improvement. (Or maybe it’s always been that way on Celebrity??) The room certainly SEEMED ready, but our steward came by and let us know he owed us a beach towel, so maybe that’s why the sign on the door said that the cabin preparation was still in progress? We snapped the obligatory photos of the cabin and headed out to explore the ship. CABIN: We were in 3118. It’s among a group of cabins that were carved out of a conference room. Because of that, the windows in these cabins are enormous – practically taking up the entire wall and nearly floor to ceiling. These staterooms are located in a hallway just off the main lobby, but there was no noise. It was really a very quiet location. Our room steward, Neil, was just fantastic. Cheerful, friendly and accommodating. He could not have been more pleasant. I could see him doing well in other customer-facing roles, like customer service or excursions. DRINK PACKAGE PRESSURE: Other reviewers have said it and I will reiterate. The first few days, you will be inundated with sales pitches to buy the drink package. We chose not to purchase because it’s a very port intensive itinerary and we had $400 in OBC. As it turned out, we were unable to spend all that $400! We even added a specialty restaurant visit the last night, when we realized how much we had left over. We’re clearly not candidates for the drink package, so I’m glad we didn’t succumb to the pressure. THE ISLANDS: ST. THOMAS/ST. JOHN: I booked this date because the itinerary originally included Tortola in place of St. Thomas. We had not visited Tortola in a long time so it seemed like the better itinerary for us. Ultimately, Tortola was dropped in favor of St. Thomas. I might have booked a different date had I known, but it was fine. We LOVE St. John, so we ferried over there. We grabbed a cab (I think it was only about $6) to the Peace Hill trail and took the steep but short hike to the ruins. The overlook offers incredible views. We got some amazing pictures. About ¾ of the way back down the trail, there is a smaller trail leading off to the left. It’s narrow, but easy to maneuver and leads down to Dennis Beach on Jumbie Day. We spent the day on the beach, snorkeling and relaxing in the shade on the beach. I don’t think there were every more than a half dozen people on the beach. Peace Hill is located between Honeymoon and Trunk Bay, so taxis pass constantly. Within moments of reaching the road, a taxi passed and stopped for us. No need to call or set a time in advance. We went to Cruz Bay and had lunch at the High Tide Bar, which is located on the water near the ferry station. It’s lovely there and the service, food (and drinks) are excellent. Unfortunately, my phone enjoyed it so much, it stayed there. I didn’t notice until back on the cruise ship. Customer Service on the ship kindly called the restaurant for me and the manager confirmed she had my phone. She took my address and offered to mail it back to me. It was waiting for me when I got home after the cruise. What GREAT people!! (I of course reimbursed them for their time and the shipping costs!) TIP FOR ST. JOHN VISITORS: We were the only ship docked at Crown Bay. All the others were at Havensight. We hurried off the ship to ensure we would have time to get to Red Hook for the 9AM ferry. The taxi drivers didn’t want to take only two passengers and we couldn’t wait for others without missing the ferry. Finally, the woman in charge of assigning passengers to cabs instructed a driver to take us. He was incredibly grumpy about the whole thing, saying he had no intention of rushing to get us there on time as he walked PAINFULLY slowly over to his van. I mean PAINFULLY slowly. He tried to convince us it was a waste of time and that we would NEVER make it by 9:00. Fortunately, we’d done it multiple times in the past, so ignored him. Despite his best efforts to drag his feet, we got there at 8:45 and had no issue boarding the 9:00 ferry. ST. MAARTIN: We chose the “Circle Tour” with D&A Taxi. Having visited the island before, we just wanted a short visit to the French side during the morning, followed by a self-tour of Philipsburg via water-taxi in the afternoon. Our driver was very nice and knowledgeable and it was kind of cool getting a totally private tour just for us, but if I had it to do over again, I’d have done the Bernard’s tour again. All those cruise critic reviewers who rave about his tours are right. It’s the best. But we enjoyed our day. We climbed up to the fort in Marigot, which we had not done before. And we enjoyed the water taxi and the boardwalk on the Dutch side. We were able to eat lunch on the ship in-between, which was economical. TIP FOR ST. MAARTIN VISITORS: The French side of the island is recovering from the hurricanes much more slowly than the Dutch side, due to a lack of help from France. Don’t expect it to be the same as you remember. DOMINICA: I absolutely love this island. I don’t understand why so many cruise passengers dislike it. There is no Diamonds International. The only shopping is among the local artisans. For us, that’s better! We love the rain forest, the black sand beaches and all the breath-taking natural beauty the island offers. And we love touring with Levi from Bumpiing Tours! This time we visited the Emerald Pool and the Carib Village. It was a great day. TIP FOR DOMINICA VISITORS: Get away from the ship! See a world that is NOTHING like where you live. Enjoy a totally new experience. You’ll be glad you did! BARBADOS: You almost can’t do a southern Caribbean itinerary without Barbados. That said, it’s not my favorite port. It’s heavily developed and modern. The beaches are beautiful, but finding one that’s not crowded is difficult. We visited Harrison Caves on a previous cruise, which is an interesting thing to do on a cruise because it’s totally different than a beach day. This time, like on our last cruise, we went on Calabaza Catamaran for a day of snorkeling, great eating, unsurpassed service and the best rum punch you’ll ever taste! GRENADA: This was our first visit to Grenada and we didn’t really know what to expect. I booked a private tour, in order to see as much as possible as the time we had there. We ended up being a tour of four, after our new friends were advised the tour they’d booked through the ship had been cancelled. We toured with a company called Tropical Adventures, owned by Vaughn Francis. Our guide, Mike, was OUTSTANDING! So friendly, entertaining, knowledgeable and accommodating. We went all over the island, stopping at Grand Etang Park (definitely interact with the Mona Monkeys – they’re incredible!), the nutmeg factory, the rum factory, the chocolate factory and Concorde Falls. The tour even included a great lunch at a little local restaurant. What a fantastic day! TRIP FOR GRENADA VISITORS: There is so much to see on this island! I found the chocolate factory particularly interesting, with lovely gardens in additional to an interesting process. Concorde Falls was beautiful. ON BOARD: - We did notice the sewer smell others have mentioned on several occasions, but it didn’t seem to hang around long. - Air conditioning died a couple of times in the third floor cabins. People took to propping open their cabin doors to let in the A/C from the hallway. It was fixed relatively quickly both times, but was uncomfortable for a while. - The wine selection on the ship is pretty mediocre. I think you can get some better wines in Cellar Masters, but in the dining room and at the bars, the brand they serve – at least in my opinion – is horrible. We like smooth, full-bodied red wines. The “house” reds are NOTHING of the sort. We ended up finding a wine we thought was pretty good called Excaliber and bought it by the bottle. I believe it was about $39, which isn’t bad for the ship. - If offered the show “All McCartney” you should definitely attend. It was GREAT! - The Martini Bar is THE happening place on board, but it can take a LONG time to get a drink there. The gentleman next to us referred to his drink as the 20-minute martini, based on how long it took to be served. - The gelato shop is rarely manned. You have to go over to the pastry shop and ask them to send someone over if you want gelato. - The Scoops ice cream is outstanding – nearly as creamy as the gelato. In my opinion, it make the fee-based gelato unnecessary. - We visited Le Petit Chef twice. (We had a lot of OBC to use on the last day, so we did the other version of the show, Le Petit Chef and Friends.) I can relate to the sentiment that it’s not something you’d want to do over and over again (although we hugely enjoyed both shows), but it’s definitely worth doing! We loved it; it’s so unique! If they keep adding new shows, they can hopefully encourage repeat customers. By the way, we went to the early show both times and there were no children either time. Some folks have deemed it a “kid” event. - Eddy was a great cruise director – friendly, funny and outgoing without being over-the-top. - You can’t hear the captain’s announcements when in your cabin and the volume control knob does nothing. - Also difficult to hear the announcements when in the Oceanview Café. It’s just too loud. - The beds and bedding were absolutely the most comfortable I’ve ever experienced in on a ship or in a hotel. Really fantastic! - The updates to the ship are really lovely. The cabins have plenty of storage. The sink vanity is a little narrow, but the sacrifice gets you a decent sized shower. - People have complained about not having a little table in their room for room service. We had one – not big, but big enough - As others have said, the area behind the Oceanview Café, near the Sunset Bar, needs more shade!! This is a pretty big deal as people LOVE to sit out there. It is hot and the sun can be blinding depending on the time of day. They really need some covering out there. This was the only part of the refurbishment I feel was a HUGE mistake. CELEBRITY VS. ROYAL CARIBBEAN: Which do we prefer?? There were a lot of things I really liked about Celebrity. The food and service is a notch above Royal in my opinion. And the beds…so comfortable and not at all ROCK-like. But we missed some of the events some passengers might view as childish or less upscale - like the belly flop contest, the 70s party, the piano bar and mini-golf. I would definitely cruise on Celebrity again, but with all other things being equal, I’d probably opt for a smaller Royal Caribbean ship. Read Less

We are first time Celebrity cruisers having sailed on NCL and Carnival and had high expectations for the dining on the Summit. The first noticeable thing was the distinct demographic of retired affluent people. If you saw kid running around it was like seeing a unicorn. However, rascals were abundant racing to the buffet or casino. The MDR turned out to be a hot mess. The food quality was better in the buffet then in the MDR. The Tuscan Grill was awesome and Sushi on 5 was like a well kept secret. It was virtually empty every time we went. We also tried the sea day seafood special in Qsine which was could have been better organized because the amount of salmon given was more than enough for dinner and was much too large of a portion. Out of all our cruises, we made the most connections with the staff on this cruise. Service was top notch. The bartenders work very hard especially those at the martini bar. The two cabin issues were handled promptly. The entertainment was ok for the length of the cruise. The magic act lacked magic and included about a 10 minute youtube video of the magician doing a stunt on a reality tv show! The two comedians were good. The singers and stage productions were really good. Soloists and duets floated around the ship. There was only a single newlywed type game show which was great but there should have been more audience participation shows. Overall, NCL and Carnival do better by providing more shows. Overall, it was an enjoyable cruise and I'd sail on the Summit again. Read Less

We do an annual cruise with a group of friends 8 total this year! We picked this cruise because of the length and going out of San Juan! We all had interior rooms as the cruise was booked starting last March! The refurbishing is Great, we loved our interior room and because this was so port intensive we really didn’t need the balcony! This was a good time and the bar tenders and bar servers were all wonderful! The ship is clean and looks great! Love the Oceanview cafe it never seemed crowded, and we always found a place to sit and eat! The food was good not GREAT! Truly seemed the were catering to passengers that liked Indian food and Chinese food! Not something I want to eat on a cruise, but thats me! They finally did serve Mexican food one day and it was well attended! We did eat dinner one night and I went to the make your own pasta station and asked for garlic and told they were out! I know not a big deal but it was like 6:30 at night no let me go get some! Not much difference in offerings from lunch to dinner! The MDR we were very disappointed with, first we did early sitting which we were told was 6:oopm, we did get a card in our room that stated it was 5:45 well we didn’t want to go at 5:45 so went at 6 were told most nights by our waiter we were late! We just joked with him we were on island time! Food was lacking in flavor not always hot and didn’t care for the choices! I also didn’t think our service was all that great! Never told of the recommendations, he didn’t act like he had time for us! Heavens forbid you ask a question, then when we did complain about the food it was not his fault please don’t rate me less then a 9! The head waiter the chef they all came out and there excuse was they cook for a lot of different people! It was never anyone’s fault! Well they wanted to make a special meal so we said a thick cut of prime rib with bake potatoes! Well they managed to screw that up and again our waiter said not my fault! It was just frustrating! We have been on several Celebrity cruises and this was the worse in food! The ship was fun, they could have had a few more things going on even when we are in port! Read Less

10 Day Cruise to Southern Caribbean in Jan 2020 - Daily buffets and nightly dinner were very good, as were the staff. Try the made to order omelets for breakfast stir-fry at night both are excellent. Ridiculous selection of baked items and desserts! - The staff is super friendly, hard working, and very helpful. Outstanding service. - The remodeled rooms and areas of the ship made it feel new -- a space you want to be in, even for a somewhat smaller ship that did not feel crowded. - The one negative, the entertainment. The individuals on the ship's group of entertainers are talented, but they lack direction. Singing their favorite show-tunes for example without any show was not compelling or interesting. - Overall I think the cruise was a decent value and the service was great. If the nightly entertainment is not a priority, I would recommend this cruise. Read Less

Really enjoyed our south caribbean cruise, really wish it was 14 days instead of 11. Felt too short. Ive done this area before on a different celebrity ship, had never been to puerto rico, grenada so it was nice to see a few new ports. Ship looked grrat with the new renos, rooms were fantastic, our stateroom the bed was super comfortable. We were in consierge class. I really wish that the onboard shopping had more items, i never saw a place to buy sunscreen or toothpaste etc , shirts were lacking, etc. The main dining room, the tables were great, staff was super nice. The meals were repetitive though i found. My husband loves to go to the library, they apparently took that out to add more rooms. So that was a bit strange. . The pool was warm. But could have been emptied as i found it started to smell half way through the trip. Read Less

I chose this cruise as a replacement for the MSC Seaside due to negative reviews. It was my 30th anniversary so we wanted to visit the Southern Caribbean out of San Juan. We stayed 3 days prior in Culebra then flew to Ceiba the morning of our cruise and drove to San Juan. This was our first time as Elite status which we achieved via RCCL Diamond Status. So we were very excited about the unlimited drinks from 5-7 and the free laundry. However, the added bonus was the delicious cafe mocha in the Tuscan Grille every morning. Due to the port intensive cruise with only 2 sea days, we chose an inside cabin on deck 11 (1126) which was very smart. Not only were we right above the windjammer, we were near an elevator that no one ever used. It was very easy to get off and on the ship during port days. The cabin was a normal sized inside cabin. What I really liked about the cabin was 1. the door on the shower (no shower curtain!!!), 2. the amount of USB ports to charge our phones, the amount of outlets to charge other things and the fact that they were right next to our bed!! 3. The amount of storage space for our clothes (2 closets to hang items), 4. Shampoo, conditioner and body soap in the shower!!! 5. A light in the bathroom so that you can see when you get up in the middle of the night. And 6. Very comfortable pillows and bedding. We ate at the windjammer the entire time other than 1 night in Sushi on Five (good), 1 night (our anniversary) in the Tuscan Grille (extremely slow), one lunch in Qsine (very good) and 1 dinner in Le Petit Chef (good and clever!). In the windjammer, the bread was excellent, the wok station was great, pizza was good. They had a nice selection of vegan, gluten free, desserts, cheeses, ...etc... And the ice cream was delicious. The seating was comfortable and spaced well. Tables were always cleaned. Unfortunately I did not see my friend the Coffee Man on this cruise. I have been on the Summit 5x and I really missed him this time. The gym was nice and never crowded. Treadmills and ellipticals were always working. There is a separate room for the classes now which is really nice. The pool area is always busy with activity. We didn't go there much. We spent our time on the 4th floor promenade outside if it was a port day. We tried the thalostherapy but its just too hot in there. The bars were very quick with giving us our drinks. The waiters in the Sunset grille got to learn that we liked our coke zero with dinner! And we always tried the elite drink menu drinks which were tasty. We did do one ship excursion to Bequia from St. Vincent which was not good at all. Beautiful place but not as advertised and too many people on the catamarran. Embarkation was about 15 minutes from parking lot to our room. We were allowed to go in and drop off our stuff. It was around 1pm so we were a little surprised since the rooms weren't ready until 2pm but hey, np! I am still on the Summit now but I wanted to type this review while everything is fresh. I am really pleased with the staff and the ship. I highly recommend this ship! Read Less

We just returned from an 11 night cruise on the Celebrity Summit that was recently upgraded. We were traveling alone this cruise without a group of friends. All in all, it was a wonderful cruise! Random comments follow: Average age was probably around 60. Not many elderly and almost no children. We are both 73 and this was our 16th cruise, the second on Celebrity. We’ve been on Azamara, Oceania, NCL, Costa, RCI and AMA cruise lines before. We really like Celebrity and feel it is a very good value. Very diverse mix of passenger nationality. I think the biggest contingent was from Canada, followed by the US and then the UK - places that are horrid in winter and warrant a getaway! We’re from Michigan which explains our presence. The ship was great. We really liked the modernization and the updated decor. We were booked into a handicapped accessible veranda stateroom. It was huge! It was 1-1/2 times larger than a standard stateroom! This was a very port intensive cruise with only two sea days. And the islands visited - especially at the beginning - were great to see; but, to tell the truth, they have all somewhat morphed into one big island in our memory. That’s not an issue, just an observation! The one real issue we had with the redo of the Summit was the removal of the sunshade over the fantail bar on deck 10. There is now very little shade. That seemed to us to be a poor decision. Also, half the tables on the deck of the fantail bar area were cocktail height making them hard to use for eating. If I were in charge I’d get rid of all of them and replace them with regular height tables. We did feel that the use of so much space on the ship to the photo gallery and the “fine art” for sale is unneeded. We saw very few passengers availing themselves of the myriad photo ops and we really question whether anyone really buys the “art” that is being hawked by Park West. The meals were quite good - no complaints at all. The last cruise we took on Celebrity we were in Aqua Class but it was fully booked by the time we signed up. We were worried about losing Blu as a dining venue but that proved not to be problem. We did eat in the Tuscan Grille ($45 pp upcharge) once, but it wasn’t really worth it. We never ate in the Sushi restaurant - nor did we see very many other passengers doing so - and we had no desire to eat at Qsine. We had no problems or long waits in getting a table for two in the main dining room. Entertainment was really good and the music being played throughout the ship at different venues was always appropriate for the passenger mix and was never overbearing. The silent disco was really fun, REALLY FUN. Eddy the cruise director, was a wonderful host with a great sense of humor - he did a great job. Normally we book all of our own tours and guides before leaving. But, for this cruise we were given a large OBC by our travel agent and we decided to use much of it on ship-sponsored excursions. We felt the ones we chose were fair in price, really quite good and were comparable to the ones we booked on our own. Boarding the ship with our Express Pass was really slick and we had no wait at all to get on board and get into our stateroom. Our luggage was delivered within two hours. Service was great and all of the staff were really pleasant and seemed to enjoy their jobs. There was never any aggravation about anything whatsoever about this cruise. Great ports, great weather, great ship, great staff, great entertainment, great food and a great group of passengers. Just about perfect for a winter respite. Boarding - 10/10 Stateroom - 10/10 Staff - 10/10 Sunset bar - 6/10 (no shade, bad tables, not enough tables) Ship - 9/10 Time it took to get drinks - 6/10 Food variety and quality - 8/10 Entertainment - 9/10 Excursions through ship - Grenada - beach resort - 9/10 - Aruba - Sail & Snorkel - 7/10 (too windy to go where advertised) - Curaçao - Beauties of Curaçao - 10/10 Tuscan Grille - 10/10 - but why bother for the price? Cruise Director - 10/10 Disembarkation - 10/10 Read Less

We selected the Summit because of the literary, even though we knew it was an older ship with limited venues. While we knew that the restaurant choices were also limited, the reviews online suggested that the food and the wine was good. We were impressed how clean and modern the ship was, and the crew was amazing!!! However, things went south when when we went to the wine bar and found that some of the better choices were not available - they did not make the boat. The other wines were overpriced and not very good. While my wife and I were happy to pay for better wine beyond our drink package (we had the top tier), again they had nothing available at the main wine bar (Cellars). However, the Elegance Red, served in the main dining room, ended up being decent (not great) and the wine bar began carrying it to meet our request. We note that some of the other bars had inventory issues (many running out of common basic brands such as Captain Morgan Spiced Rum), so that is an area they need work in.. The main dining room was a mixed bag - the fish was overcooked and the seared duck was not - there was a good 1/4" of fat under the skin that proper cooking would have melted off, making the skin crispy. That said, it was tasty. The french onion soup did not contain any onions. But there were other dishes that were good. The buffet was another matter - everything was dying in the pan and far far too salty. Finally, the upgraded dining was good, but if you are paying between $70 and $110 extra per couple per meal (before mandatory tip and excluding wine), this is NOT a good deal. Other cruise lines have far better food in the main dining rooms or other free options, and the upgraded dining is far more reasonably priced. One final item - the dress code is outdated. For the main dining room, you will need to dress in business casual or higher. Even though you are... on.... vacation. Reasonable rules are fine (no bathing suits, etc), but this was too far for us. Finally, the entertainment was mixed. The dancers were great, the singers were mixed, and the comedian.... well.... he really needs therapy for his anger issues with his wife. Four sets of the same sort of ranting was not fun to sit through. Read Less

We booked this cruise a year and a half ago while onboard our very first cruise ever on the Millenium in Alaska. We loved everything about that trip and were looking forward to an equally satisfying experience on this trip. Things seem to have changed since then. Embarkation was flawless. Quick, easy and smooth. We were lucky enough to get an upgrade to a veranda. The room was beautiful, everything we expected. Except the bed, it was not very comfortable and the pillows were terrible. Half way through the trip we overheard someone else complaining about the pillows and saying they had asked for and received feather pillows so we did the same, which was a huge help. Which brings me to our main complaint.... the hospitality I guess you would call it. Whereas our room was attended to daily, in a timely fashion and adequately I would say we ran into our room steward no more than a dozen times IF that much on our 10 night cruise. We developed a great repore with a different steward from down the hall and he was the one we asked for pillows, chatted with, joked with and saw numerous times every day. He was not our steward but he really made the trip fun and we tipped him as if he had been ours. Other than him the only other crew members who put forth any effort to be friendly were the waitress and her assistant. They were fabulous. The crew for the most part was just off. We walked past crew members all day every day without being greeted with so much as a smile. We stood at a carving station at the buffet on 2 ocaissions and waited for a server to stop joking around within our sight and come out to carve the meat. It was like the entire crew was preoccupied by something else. We did happen to notice that a number of the officers had family onboard for the Holidays so perhaps that made nearly everyone else a little bit laid back as well. A huge step down from our first experience with Celebrity. In fact my husband has been on 2 Norwegian cruises and said they were at least comparable and we overheard another passenger saying that she found it comparable to Princess. Yikes. Big price differences. Dinner in the main dining room was always quite good, although there was one night we skipped because there was nothing that intetested us on the menu. We did enjoy the evening chic nights and wish more people would dress up. Breakfast in the dining room was not bad but they did mess our order up 3 or 4 times! Food in the buffet was good but it seemed to be closed a lot more often than we expected it to be. We did enjoy the grill out by the pool for lunch numerous times. We did not try any of the specialty dining. The Persian Garden was very comfortable and relaxing. We enjoyed soaking in the hot tubs in the solarium but we were very disappointed that there wasn't enough water in the salt pool so it made a very loud constant sucking sound which was very annoying and if you sat up on the bench the water barely covered your waist. No surprise that there was rarely many people in it. It did not seem to is that there were nearly as many entertainers onboard this trip as we had seen the last time. Nor were the shows in the theatre the same calliber. Excursions through the ship were well organized and smoothly executed. We did a sailing/snorkeling excursion, a horseback riding and beach excusion, a waterfall and spice tour and a bus tour/airport drop off tour on the last day. All were worth the price and we would do them again. I was surprised by the condition of the islands themselves if you ventured outside of the immediate tourist/shopping areas. Made me feel guilty that we were visiting them from a big fancy ship while they live as they do. Very run down and lots of seemingly abandoned homes. The cost of everyday items in their local stores was astounding. Everywhere you turn there is a chain jewelry shop. Prices were pretty average, not the great deals we had heard about. The beaches are amazingly beautiful and the weather was perfect even though we did get a passing shower every day! Read Less

We went on a 10-day cruise on the Celebrity Summit that left out of San Juan, Puerto Rico on January 4, 2020 and visited an island each day. Just one "at sea" day. We traveled with another couple who had never cruised before, so we thought that this itinerary would be an ideal way to introduce them to cruising since they would only be on the ship doing the evenings and overnight. It worked out beautifully! We enjoyed the ship very much. Here is a breakdown of the pluses and (a few) minuses with the ship. Embarkation and disembarkation: The check-in process was one of the easiest and quickest we have experienced, probably due to the newer technology of check-in online and uploading a photo, plus having an app with the boarding pass ready to scan! We walked in, deposited our large luggage at the terminal and breezed through the line. We were given a greeting and free champagne when boarding and could drop off our carry-ons and collect our sea pass at our room since it was left on our door! At the end of the cruise, we opted for later departure since we were spending a night in Old San Juan before returning home. We had time for breakfast in the Oceanview buffet and walked off when our group number was called. We easily found our checked luggage, walked right through customs after putting our luggage through a scanner for a USDA inspection, and had no delay or problems whatsoever! We called an Uber which came within 5 minutes and were taken to our hotel. Easy peasy! The food: Not quite as good as Princess and Holland. It was hit or miss... the first night, I had roast pork and it was so dry and chewy that I couldn't eat much of it. Another night, we had duck, and it was excellent. Sometimes the food proved to be very good, while at other times not so great. There was also a lot of "selling" going on (especially on the first 2 days) to encourage us to buy or upgrade to a beverage package or to go to one of the optional (up-charge) restaurants, which got annoying. I began to feel that the food was less than great to encourage us to go to one of the other restaurants that had an an extra charge! We went to the Oceanview buffet for breakfasts (which were usually quite good, especially the freshly made omelettes and the hot croissants that servers walked around and delivered while you ate), but we were usually on a shore excursion for lunch. We never tried it for dinner since a buffet usually isn't a nice as a sit-down dinner in the main dining room (although our traveling companions said they were considering it after having a couple of so-so dinners in the Cosmopolitan restaurant!). The service, however, in both venues was exemplary and our servers at dinner, Onsa and Preeya, were extremely friendly and efficient. They made us feel welcome and even anticipated what we liked for beverages and menu selections! Entertainment: Excellent guest entertainers. We loved the comedians, magician, singers and acrobats! The house singers and dancers were very good too. I thought that their shows could have used better costumes and sets since those got a little hum-drum. They often did the whole show (or most of it) in the same generic costumes and without much in the way of sets to separate the pieces except for a little mood lighting! The house band was great and the drummer did an inspired solo for one of the guest entertainers that was totally awesome! Activities: It may have been because we had so many shore days off the ship, but it seemed that there were fewer onboard activities than other cruises we have taken. Specifically, no cooking shows or demos, and no craft-type activities. I always enjoyed those on other cruises. We did like the trivia, silent disco, and a few of the game shows and dance parties. There were also no "food" events like on Princess and Holland such as dessert night by the pool or ice sculptures. And, although we didn't have much time to use a library, I was surprised that there was none on the Summit other than a tiny rack of books! Shore excursions: We only went on 3 of the Celebrity excursions. St. Thomas, Martinique, and Grenada. The St. Thomas tour was called the "5 Star Island Tour" but really was 2-star at best! It was on an open bus, which was quite warm and with no place to stow our bags while not on the bus. It mainly consisted of a 2-hour shopping stop which was MUCH too long (and the area was packed with mostly expensive jewelry stores in which we had zero interest), a quick drive up to an overlook, and a 2-hour beach break which was nice...but not much was seen of the island. Our other excursions were on larger buses, but we could at least store our bags while engaging in other activities and sit in comfort during the tours. We enjoyed our Martinique and Grenada tours very much! They took us all over the islands and we saw many interesting things. Our guides were very good on those tours too. Overall, the trip was great with some minor inconveniences! I would definitely try Celebrity again. Read Less

It was our first celebrity cruise and we enjoyed every moment of it First of all we had a fantastic roll call one of the members put a spreadsheet together with all members and what they were going to do, so we had in advance knowledge She even organised the night before a precruise dinner in a local restaurant in San Juan, where we meet. It was very nice. The ship was very fine, everybody crew and officers had always a smile on there face As first time celebrity cruises we got seoerate invitations such as sailaway at the helideck in Barbados The food in MDR was very good so we did not go to specialty restaurants except to the oceanview for breakfest. Julia at diner reservationdesk ( we had select dining ) did a great job every night giving us a dinner table at same place. We always choose seperat not shared but always endin up having nice conversations with cruisers on the tables next to us At deck you could get drinks from the bars but crewmembers were strolling and asking if you want drink Our verandah cabin was very good, with lots of storage space and sitting on the verandah is nice There was always enough space on deck and breakfest there were no waiting lines at the counters. The itenarary was good we have got the opportunity to visit 8 islands and had enough time between 8.00 and 5.00 Entertainment on board was sufficient but not super. The bottum line is a very good organized cruise with lots to do on very fine cruise ship and dito cruiseline. We will certainly be going again with celebrity Read Less

It was our first cruise on Celebrity cruise but my 7th cruise overall with various lines. The main reason why we chose Celebrity was because we wanted to experience a cruise line marketing itself as “one notch above” but still being affordable. Also, we had cruised once in the past during the holidays and it was fun. With these considerations, the experience was very good but not enough to warrant five stars based on our expectations. The ship itself was okay. We were surprised at the outdated areas. Cabins are within the norm. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary on the positive or negative side. Food was perhaps a couple of steps below what we have experienced on other cruises.The service was incredibly slow and sometimes took 2 ½ -3 hours. Too long if you had planned to attend a show. The activities were quite common with other cruise lines and we could not really find any major pros or cons to mention. We were surprised that there wasn’t more of a New Year’s Eve Celebration. The excursions were also in line with the industry. There are three specific points that support the 3 star ranking I am giving: First, the service personnel (with a few exceptions) doesn’t give you that warm feeling that you see in other cruise lines. People serving the food, bartenders, etc., were “just there”. They were doing their jobs but it was far from the genuine interest in you that we’ve seen on other cruise lines. That does not translate into bad service (although in a couple of situations it did) but it is not what we expected on Celebrity. The second was the highly annoying up selling of the beverage packages. Lastly, we felt that the formal nights weren’t promoted as such or made as special as other cruises we’ve been on. Overall, we might consider a newer cruise ship with Celebrity again, but based on our expectations, it wasn’t a 5-star experience. Read Less

It was our first cruise on Celebrity but our 12th cruise overall. The main reason why we chose Celebrity was because we wanted to experience a cruise line marketing itself as “one notch above” but still being affordable. Also, we have cruised twice in the past on the holidays and it has been very fun. With these considerations, the experience was very good but not enough to warrant five stars based on expectations. The ship itself is great. O complains there. Cabins are within the norm. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary on the positive or negative side. Food was perhaps a couple of steps above what we have experienced in other cruises. Kudos for the specialty restaurants. Qusine is a must (although expensive) and Sushi on 5 was the best food by far. The activities are quite on line with other cruise lines and could not really find any major pros or cons to mention. The excursions were also in line with the industry. There are three specific points that support the 4 star ranking I am giving: First, the service personnel (with a few exceptions) doesn’t give you that warm feeling that you see in other cruise lines. People in the buffet serving the food, bartenders, etc., are “just there”. They are doing their jobs but it is far from the genuine interest in you that I have seen in other cruise lines. That does nos translate into bad service (although in a couple of situations it did) but it is not what Celebrity markets. The second was the highly annoying up selling of the beverage packages (especially in the first two days) reaching the level of harassment. After the first two or three times I was approached in common areas of the vessel in the first hour or so on board, I started counting. At the end of the second day, an astonishing 27 people (!) had approached me to sell me the beverage package. I am not sure in what universe that is even remotely acceptable. That was my first impression. Lastly, we had an issue with one of the excursions (pre-cruise) and the phone support was so useless we decided to just cancel. We were willing to work it out but it was completely impossible to get someone rational on the phone. Overall, we will definitely cruise with Celebrity again, but based on our expectations, it wasn’t a 5-star experience. Read Less

Celebrity does a really good job. It runs a wonderful ship. For instance, we disembarked in every port by 8 a.m. and no one had to re-board until 5 p.m. - and sometimes later. Everything ran on time and everything worked like it was supposed to. There was a Norwegian ship in St. Kitts that had supposedly lost a generator. For some strange reason, that justified making the ship sail more slowly and which in turn cut down on those guests' port time. Also, they said their cabins were warm. I have heard many stories like that related to Carnival and Norwegian ships. I have never experienced or heard about anything like that on Celebrity ships. Another plus to this cruise is that cruising from San Juan is a great way to go for travelers to the windward and leeward islands in the eastern Caribbean. Embarkation The pier used by Celebrity in San Juan (the Pan-American pier) offers and especially accessible and quick boarding process. While the facilities are not as new as those in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, the boarding experience is much better. Ship Experiences Food and Dining 5 out of 5 The quality of the food in the main dining room was quite good. It is improved from my experience last year on the Celebrity Reflection. However, the older design of the Summit’s Ocean View Café is not as good. It’s overall smaller but the food is spread out over a much larger area. The specialty dining continues to be very good. Onboard Activities Celebrity has fewer enrichment activities for adults than I would like. Also, for teens older than 17 years (Celebrity offers this group its X-Club), there are very few organized activities even though this New Year's sailing had a fair number of 18 to 25-year-olds on board. Entertainment Very good. The Celebrity singers and dancers were better than last year. The musicians were especially good. However, the visiting performers were not quite as strong as my Celebrity Reflection cruise last year. Service and Staff Absolutely wonderful staff. Celebrity always shines in this area but the staff on the Celebrity Summit is especially good. Since it's one of Celebrity's older ships, it's the opposite of what I thought I would see. I expected a good staff but thought the best and most experienced staff would be on Celebrity's newer and bigger ships. Apparently, that's not how things work at Celebrity. Ship Quality Extremely clean with a very modern and fresh feel. Since the Summit is almost 20 years old, the ship’s condition was the biggest surprise to me. Also, the Summit is very well-maintained. I never once came across anything that did not work properly and never once saw an out-of-order sign. Read Less

Celebrity Summit December 21, 2019 – January 4, 2020 Caribbean B2B Sailing You can see photos from this cruise and our other sailings by following the link on our Cruise Critic profile page: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/profile/35108-jgnova/ A change in winter break itineraries sailing from Baltimore, our favorite home port, forced us to look at other options for our annual trek south. After a bit of research, we decided to do a back-to-back on Celebrity Summit from San Juan, which had two different itineraries stopping at 9 islands over the two weeks, with one stop (plus the San Juan turnaround) duplicated. Embarkation / Disembarkation: Getting on the ship was amazingly fast. Instead of waiting in a line to then go to the check-in desk, we were sent to someone standing on our side of the desks. He scanned my boarding pass, decided to use my photo that I had uploaded, took a photo of DW, and sent us on our way up the escalator. We crossed the gangway, had our boarding passes scanned again on deck, and entered the ship on deck 4, where we were handed our boarding-day mimosa, and sent on to our cabin. Our seapass cards were in a pocket on the cabin door and we entered, staying long enough to stow our carry-on luggage. From there it was on to a Concierge Class lunch in the MDR, which was delicious and gave us an opportunity to sit and chat with a few fellow passengers. I would guess it took us less than 30 minutes from being dropped off by the taxi to being seated for lunch! Getting off the ship was equally efficient. We waited for them to call our number, took the elevator down to deck 4, and walked right off with no perceptible line. From there we walked through immigration, again with minimal delays, found our luggage, and were in a taxi within minutes. B2B Turnaround: This was our second time on a B2B from San Juan and they have really improved the process. Our previous experience required us to leave the cabin around 8, with no allowed return until the cabins were all ready for the next week, even though we were in the same cabin. Then we had to wait in a meeting room until the ship was cleared by the Customs people, walk off the ship after turning in our old seapass, wave our passports at the Immigration officer, and walk back on to pick up our new seapass, and wait until the cabins were opened. This year, those of us staying in the same cabin were allowed to stay there until around 9, when we went to the Sky Lounge, which had coffee/tea and pastries, and wait while they cleared the ship. We then swapped our old seapass cards for new ones (we got the old ones back the last night), waved our passports at the Immigration officer, and were free to wander the ship or return to our cabin. So much smoother! Ship: This cruise represented our fifth and sixth weeks on Summit, but our first after she was “Revolutionized.” Our previous sailings included both before and after her “Solsticization” in 2012. The various changes have been addressed elsewhere and I’ll focus on the subtleties that we noticed most. The library has been removed and we spotted a few books stuck in shelves in Rendezvous lounge and Cellar Masters between a few checker and chess sets. I think removing the library is a major loss as there have been several times on a cruise when I found books in the library that I wanted to read instead of what I brought on my e-book reader. The new layout also moved the Tuscan Grille entrance from near the mid-ship elevators and the atrium to the rear of the ship, hidden among cabins. This change, to create space to add more cabins, also removed the S.S. Normandie artifacts collection from the Tuscan Grille entrance and its contents were dispersed elsewhere on the ship. I am positive that on previous sailings I could find places to sit on deck away from the pool crowds and noise that were shaded but I could find nothing on this sailing other than the few covered seats near the movie screen. This left the Promenade Deck (4) as the only place I could reliably sit in a quiet and shady spot to read. Cabin: We were in 8134, a Concierge Class cabin about mid-way between the aft and mid-ship elevators and this was a great location for moving about the ship as the aft stairs (missing on Solstice class ships) were great for getting to the MDR and Oceanview café. The renovated cabin was bright and had more than enough storage for the two of us. The bathroom renovation added more shelf space and a bright night light that was extremely helpful. The only complaint we had about the cabin was that the switch for the bedside lamp on one side of the bed was not reachable from the bed, which we thought was strange – had the designer not actually tried sleeping in a cabin? Food: The food was as we remembered on previous Celebrity sailings – varied and delicious. Select dining is now on deck 4 with traditional dining on deck 5. The addition of Luminae meant that everyone with Select dining in the MDR had to enter through the starboard MDR entrance, resulting in a lot of traffic past the tables near the entrance. The service was excellent and the hostess was extremely helpful at helping guests stick with the same serving team every night. One benefit of this arrangement was that, even though we had Select Dining, we wound up sitting with clusters of the same people almost every night, allowing us to have more than cursory “who are you, where are you from, how many cruises have you taken” conversations. The new layout in the Oceanview Café was an excellent change from the old design and I found it less congested than that on Solstice class ships. The only complaint I have about the new layout was that the bakery section (with the croissants and breakfast pastries) was about as far from the omelet station as possible. The food and selections were excellent, as always. The buffet was rarely crowded, even on the last morning of the cruise. Entertainment: We did not go to the shows as we have consistently found the volume level to be louder than we find comfortable. Medical clinic: We experienced a medical problem necessitating a few visits to the clinic, during which we met with both intake nurses and both physicians. The care was excellent, thorough, and not as expensive as we anticipated – more in line with what we pay for a doctor visit at home. Ports: We had a mix of ship and private excursions: Week 1: St. Kitts: We have been to St. Kitts multiple times and have toured the island so we reserved a beach day at the Marriott at Frigates Bay and had no trouble getting a taxi in either direction. The beach was lovely and we had little trouble finding chaises under a cabana from which we could watch the waves. Aruba: This was our second trip to Aruba and had toured it on that earlier visit. The Casabari Rock Formation had fascinated me and I wanted to explore that further on this return visit. However, my research found another formation with petroglyphs, the Ayo Rock Formation, so that became our point of interest for this visit. We found a taxi at the pier and learned about the standard rates for each destination, which seemed reasonable (about $100 for the round trip and about a half hour to explore the rock formation. Unlike the better known (and closer to the port) Casabari Rock Formation, which appeared jammed with tourists when we drove by, the Ayo Rock Formation was almost empty – we were the fourth vehicle to park there. We had a great time exploring the structure with NO CROWDS! Curaçao: This was also our second visit and we used the ship excursion to the Hato Caves, which were fascinating because they were at a higher elevation and were quite warm. From there we toured the historic town of Willemstad after which we were free to wander and then walk across the floating bridge back to the port area. Bonaire: Another return visit after a previous tour, so we took a ship excursion that offered a semi-submersible tour of the reefs near Klein Bonaire, a small island across from the port area. This was a great way to see the reefs and fish without having to swim or even get wet! Week 2: Barbados: This was also a return trip for us, but our first time to tour, having walked around Bridgetown on our own on our previous visit. This time we took a ship excursion to Harrison’s Cave, which used an electric tram to guide the tourists around a huge cave formation and we thought it was a great trip. From there, the tour took us to a Highland overlook that gave us a view of the Atlantic-side beaches and then for a trip around the island to get an idea of the parts of the island we had not seen on our way back to the port. We walked on our own to the Pelican Crafts Village to see some local crafts, a place we had visited previously. Some of the work was extremely original and interesting, and a painting almost came home with us until we remembered airplane luggage limitations. St. Lucia: We had to skip our planned tour because of the previously mentioned health issue but have rebooked the tour for our next sailing that takes us there. Antigua: We booked a beach day at BeachLimerz, a place we had visited a year earlier, and enjoyed a day sitting on the beach and watching the waves and clouds. The owner arranged our taxi service in both directions and everything went quite smoothly. St. Kitts: We decided to stay on the ship and take advantage of the almost-empty ship to relax. I love watching the clouds and shadows wander across the mountains on St. Kitts and Nevis whenever we have been there. St. Thomas: I grabbed an open-air bus to Magens Bay and had a relaxing day enjoying the calm clear waters and lovely beach – and watching the pelicans swoop among the swimmers to grab their own lunch. Overall experience: This was a great vacation, with nine islands and three sea days, coupled with the great Celebrity service we’ve learned to enjoy. The weather was excellent with slightly rough seas only one evening and a little rain one afternoon. Read Less

Have sailed Summit several times before (as well as other ships in Celebrity fleet, and also in RC and Disney ones). Celebrity continues to draw us to her because of the emphasis on quality people, places and experiences. It is interesting to watch the progression of cruising, and this particular line, over time... what remains the same is the emphasis on strong service, cleanliness, and overall classic elegance. Ship: post-Revolution it has a particular design aesthetic now... perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but certainly not bold enough to be objectionable or in any way distasteful. We miss the wood paneling of Michael's Pub (now the more glossy-white Retreat Lounge), and miss the piano in our room (now there is a modern Aarnio-style "ball" chair), but, overall, the design changes are more subtle, promoting light and a general refresh in places like the Casino. Our cabin, Penthouse 6148, was divine. For those who don't know, it is this class of ship on Celebrity - the M-class - that has the penthouse of all penthouses, with a glorious wrap-around deck (we had seating for ~28 persons on the deck), amazing square footage and storage throughout the cabin, and a very useful butler's pantry with full-size fridge. Closets were everywhere and the suite is tastefully and comfortably appointed. The Retreat Sundeck is a bit of a miss to us, frankly. First, with the Penthouse Suite veranda being what it is, not sure there's much luring us to climb the stairs to the Retreat. Second, I heard that the drinks there are not complimentary to suite passengers... you need to have the premium package to partake. Now that seems silly to us... drinks down in the Retreat Lounge are complimentary to all who have access there, but outside you need the package?? That seems to be a disconnect. The food offerings are limited in range and hours offered. The whole space seemed just "off"to a small degree. As PH suite guests, we had unlimited specialty dining and went to our preferred venue, Tuscan Grill, every other night. Service and food were simply superb... best ever. Our preferences were remembered and anticipated each subsequent visit. The steaks and other dishes were exceptionally well done (and we know from the best steakhouses). We appreciated having access to the wine list of every specialty dining restaurant and would recommend Celebrity compile a master list for customers who may want an easy reference to all the bottles available on board, as going from one menu to another is a bit cumbersome. Overall, Tuscan was exceptional and remarkable in the level of consistency it held throughout the sailing. We find the offerings in Luminae to be ambitious... perhaps too ambitious, as they do not consistently hit the mark. Therefore, we appreciate being able to order off the Main Dining Room menu if the Luminae menu isn't "speaking" to us on the given night. The fact one cannot do that on the Edge-class ships is something we think about as we consider future sailings. We found Luminae to be limited for our tastes. Where we were actually disappointed was in Qsine, which is now offering Le Petit Chef. This is memorable, perhaps, but certainly not a repeatable, experience. Projections onto your plate may be entertaining, but if not backed up by emplary food, not sure how entertaining those films on the table wind up being... and the food was simply mediocre to poor. The steak frites beef was shoe leather, even when ordered medium rare. The frites were dark brown, very over done. Just not good. There were just 18 people in a dining room that could hold far more than twice that... so we wonder how sustainable the event will wind up being. Sushi on 5, when we went, had a wait and we wonder if moving spaces or otherwise re-imagining the concept in the Qsine space may be in order. Ultimately, the food needs to be better, as it did not come close in quality to other venues. Sushi on 5 excelled with tastes, flavors and offerings... but here was the only place on board where service was lacking. Orders were filled disjointedly, it was hard to "hail" a server for assistance, and drinks and food came slow. We ordered room service twice, once a Christmas Morning brunch on that back deck delivered by our butler, Anu, which was lovely, and a second time a late lunch after returning from a shore excursion. Food was good both times. Had gelato from Bistro on 5... found it rather bland and not rich and flavorful as one would expect gelato to be. We enjoyed roulette at the Casino several evenings. Completely a game of chance, of course, and no different from a slot machine that way, but afforded us the opportunity to laugh and socialize with passengers and casino staff. All were friendly and professional. Drink service was not particularly forthcoming, however, but that was not a problem. Martini Bar was also a regular stop. Bartenders were very focused on making drinks (they were exceptionally good there), less so putting on a show... so that's a slight difference from other sailings. By last couple of days of cruise it was surprising to hear they were running short on glasses... I was getting my cosmopolitan served to me in a wine glass... peculiar and not particularly great in that vessel. Oceanview offered many options for breakfast and lunch. Things were neat and well maintained there, providing a conducive space for a casual bite to eat. We traveled with our 17 year old son. What an interesting thing it is to have seen him progress through the children's programming on Celebrity from his first cruise over 10 years ago! He thoroughly enjoyed his time with the older teens and, indeed, they have been socializing since the cruise ended via social media and their ever-present phones. He is reticent to sail again on Celebrity, as he cannot fathom how we will meet up with fellow college-aged passengers going forward without the teen club at least structuring that first meet and greet for them. Get on that, Celebrity... a College Student introduction on the first night or so sounds like it may be in order, lol! My son wanted to maintain his fitness while on the sailing (he's a varsity athlete in his high school and his conditioning matters to him). He asked for 3 50-minute personal training sessions in the Fitness Center. He enjoyed working with Adrian and keeping the push going, even while at sea. While Captains Club Elite Plus members, we did not avail ourselves of anything by way of their perks or events, save the heliport sailaway from Curacao. That was windy, but great fun. The captain even waved from the bridge to all of us gathered there. My husband had to briefly use the medical facility because of a difficulty with his ear. He remarked at how professional and thorough things were there. The teen son and his group of newly found friends actually took in 3 of the shows. My husband and I think they were being ironic, but, lo and behold, they actually enjoyed themselves and gave the shows strong reviews. We were sorry there was no comedian on this sailing. In general, we found the cruise director and social director a bit too frenzied and silly for our tastes. We are young 50 year olds, but even though Latin themselves, regularly making fun of their ethnicity with stereotypical, self-depreciating ethnic jokes (such as "Mexican Word of the Day") is not what we consider appropriate humor for a major employee on a mass market cruise line.. and it was repeatedly done by the Cruise Director and Social Activities Director. But we well may be counter cultural in that regard. As this was a "Christmas" sailing, there were interesting activities during the week: Senior Officers caroling in the main foyer, a Christmas-themed show, gingerbread decorations going up the main staircase and the random tree around the ship, Mass and, too, a non-denominational Christmas service, a decorated and lit 6-ft tree in our suite, and, as Hanukkah also began during the week, there was the lighting of a giant menorah in the main atrium each night, led by a rabbi. Alexandra, the bartender in the Retreat Lounge, was exceptional at connecting in a personable, fun way with all different kinds of people. She helped make the week memorable. Bahrin, our waiter in Tuscan, was remarkable in his respectful, professional service. We felt luck to have him take care of us there each visit. And our stateroom attendant Haji quietly but exceedingly effectively kept the stateroom spotless and comfortable according to our wishes - he was the best we ever had. We appreciated the requested snacks butler Anu placed in the fridge in the butler's pantry, and he joined us in admiring the monogrammed Frette Retreat robes that were ours to take home. These people made our one week with them very special, and we were thankful to them for that. This itinerary featured Bonaire, an island new to us. We arranged for a private golf cart rental on that island to see it all and we were glad we did... it was fantastic fun! And what an amazing island... so intriguing and so much nature to see and appreciate. We walked around Aruba and Curacao, preferring to be on our own on those two islands, as we had been there before. In St. Kitts, we took a catamaran ride... fun, but nothing special. Embarkation - relatively easy. We arrived right before 1pm by cab from the airport and were on the ship by 1:10. Penthouse suite guests are personally escorted right on board directly to the Retreat Lounge. Rooms were open at 1:30pm. Disembarkation - a bit confusing. We were limited in terms of what we could eat or drink - even in the Retreat. This had not been the case on other sailings, as we were able to access food and drink a bit later. Made for a rather tedious wait for disembarking, as, with a 1:40 flight, we were not in a hurry to leave the ship and wait at the airport. So we were in the final group to leave the ship from Retreat, right around 10:15. Once beyond the Celebrity world, cabs are the typical mishmash there at the port, with everyone so much as looking at you putting their hand out for a tip (makes you long to get back on the ship!). San Juan airport continues to have its struggles... the Priority Pass lounge is overcrowded, dirty, skimpy offerings... but that's true of the whole airport, really. We were surveyed about it 5-6 years ago... not a thing has changed. Bathrooms were very dirty... waiting areas crammed... it is a brutal way to end one's vacation. But end it we must. We had never done a holiday sailing before, and our family agreed it was a lovely experience and one we would consider again. Celebrity does it well. There were two holiday chic nights - one on Christmas Eve and the other on Christmas Day - in addition to the other Chic night on the first sea day. Lots of fun and festive attire all around the ship making things merry and bright. Great to see the passengers embrace the holly and the jolly. The M-class Penthouse Suite is a spoiler. Yes, it is worth it. We appreciate the size and layout of this class of ship, and that wrap-around stateroom, and the exceptional services and "perks" that come with it, are outstanding. Unlimited laundry, premium bev packages for all, unlimited internet, unlimited specialty dining, and much more. It makes the vacation a true vacation. More outstanding, still, is that after all these years - from our first Celebrity Century sailing back in 1998 - to now, the hallmarks of high, personable, professional service, impressive cleanliness, and tasteful classiness are still there. They keep us returning... Read Less

A little background, my husband and I are 55 and 50. This is our 9 cruise. 5 on RC and this is the 4th on Celebrity. We have found that staying a couple of days before the cruise is much more relaxing then coming in on the same day. So my husband and I with our 2 dear friends rented a airbnb in the Carolina area of San Juan. We went to dinner at El Ambique and had the Mofongo, can you say yummy. We ate their twice last year. It's that good. The service is super. We went to the Carolina Beach the next day and it was very nice, a tad windy but sooo relaxing. We felt very safe and comfortable in this area. We did see a good presence of police on the beach which was nice. I tried real hard not to look suspicious. On embarkation day we took an Uber to the port. Embarkation: We were on the ship in 10 minutes enjoying a glass of free champagne. One thing I appreciated was that the captain and officers greeted you as you came in. I always like to know who's responsible for getting us around safely. The ship looked very nice with all the updates and had a much more open airy feeling. So off we went to our room. The new thing they are doing is they leave the sea pass for you on the door in a sealed envelope. I was thinking can that be safe? No worries people, If the envelope is tampered with, just bring it down to guest relations and apprise (that's my big word of the day) them of the situation. I have not heard of any problems with it. I think doing it that way gets you on the ship even faster. WOOhoo. After we put our valuables away in the safe that was not screwed into the cupboard any longer. I felt like taking it with me as a joke. We did tell our cabin attendant but we weren't overly worried about it. We have never had any problem with theft on board. Then off to the Oceanview café to begin the eating frenzy. Oceanview Café: The remodel of the café is beautiful. It's no longer one long feeding trough but separate little food stations. So if you feel like fruit (which I do) just go to the fruit station. You feel like a little Indian food walk on over to the Indian station. This really cut out a lot of congestion except where the bacon was. Not Kidding!! The breakfast food got a little repetitious but they made up for it with the variety for lunch. The only time it really felt crowded was the day of disembarkation. But other than that it was easy to find and get to what you wanted. Paul was the Oceanview Cafe manager and we talked to him on a few occasions and he told us a little about the revamp and what they wanted it to accomplish. Very nice gentleman. Dining room: We had such a wonderful time each evening with our friends, sharing the days activities. The food was very good. They had quite a few outstanding dishes. Then there were a couple of misses but we were very satisfied and plump after each meal. We want to express our appreciation to the people that made it so wonderful. First, Campbell our head waiter, but lurking beneath his quiet exterior was a very funny guy. We appreciated his humor and efficiency. He did a fine job. Crisanto, our assistant waiter and best bread deliverer and crumb clearer. Lawrence, our wine steward and movie trivia extraordinaire. Grace, our bartender who's glowing personality and upbeat attitude was contagious. We want to thank you and acknowledge how hard you work. Your service made our vacation all the more memorable. Entertainment and Activities: We really enjoyed the first night of Karoake. A lot of varying singing levels. The band Shine was awesome. A lot of music we enjoy. I do wish when it came to the entertainment the segments were longer, with just 45 minutes your just starting to get into it and its done. The Jersey Tenors were super good. They weren't just singers they were entertaining and bonus, very easy on the eyes. The Knights were good, and the 2 comedians we saw we pretty decent. The 80's song Game was a riot and after that we danced to songs from the 80's. My Husband watched part of a movie on the movie deck. Nice area. Ports of Call: The only excursions we did were in StJohn's, Antiqua and St Lucias. We did a swim with the stingrays excursion through celebrity. It was awesommeeee. We took a 1/2 drive to get to the boat and then we were off and I mean off. He was hitting waves where we were getting major air. The more excited we got the faster he would go and we were in the front. It was a good start. I thought it would be crowded but the way they did it was very organized. They made sure you could feed the stingray and hold it if you wanted. At first it kind of freaked me out when I felt something bump into me in the water but I got used to it. They are amazingly beautiful creatures and when they come up to you they touch you with their underside which is so soft and they are gentle for how big they are. There were a couple of guys that screamed which I thought was pretty funny. The guides were great. They made sure you got enough time with them. I never felt rushed. They never called us in, everyone just took their time going back to the dock when they wanted to. Then we went back to our starting point to buy pictures and enjoy pineapple juice or rum punch. Again they were not rushing you to get back in the van to be brought back to port. I would highly recommend. It's a memory I'll never forget. St Lucias- We did the Coastal cruise to Pitons. It was nice but I wish we had more than the 35 minutes on the beach to snorkel. But the scenery and the pitons were gorgeous. You can't complain about much when your on a boat in the Caribbean soaking up the rays. Once again we were sitting in front on the mesh, where you can see the water below. We were hitting some good waves and of course we got totally drenched. But isn't that part of the adventure. Staff: All the staff were so kind and friendly. I appreciated seeing handrails being sanitized frequently. All staff says hello when they see you. We want to give a shout out to our 2 favorite photographers, Erikka and Rocky. Very good at what they do and are fully engaged in it. General: Muster drill took 15 minutes. Ship was clean. We love the fact that you see the officers around the ship talking with passengers. Disembarkation: The captain and crew were there to say goodbye. Took 15 minutes to get to taxi area. Super smooth. In Conclusion: This is our second time on the Summit and this cruise was great. We had a blast. Can't wait until our next cruise on Celebrity. Hopefully Panama Canal. Read Less

We have cruised Celebrity extensively but have never sailed on the Summit or out of Puerto Rico. We we were traveling with our two adult daughters and this timing and itinerary worked with their schedules. My husband and I had been to all the ports, but liked them enough to return. The early onset of winter in Boston made the trip even more welcome. We arrived the day before the cruise and had a lovely room overlooking the port at the Sheraton in old San Juan. Unfortunately, Celebrity docked at the PanAm pier about a-mile away but it was still fun to see the other ships. After getting lost in the rain that night, we stumbled into a very nice restaurant , Parilla. After breakfast at the hotel the next day, we took a free tour by golf cart through OSJ. This stay In Puerto Rico seemed like a vacation itself, unlike our Florida departures. We also had a wonderful beach day and lunch before heading back post-cruise. My husband and I have a strong preference for the larger, newer S class ships and weren’t particularly looking forward to being on the Summit. Since it was a busy, port intensive itinerary, we figured it wouldn’t matter. Embarkation was flawless. We boarded on the late side around 4 to enjoy more time in OSJ. Our cabin attendant, Harris, introduced himself right away and continued to provide excellent service. We also had an excellent team in the MDR. We had select dining with 7:30 reservations and the hostess did her best to keep us with the same team. All the staff-on the ship were friendly and the officers were visible and interacted with passengers. Many officers attended the Meet n Mingle the first night which set a lovely tone. The Summit had been renovated and looked great. Our cabin was attractive, had plenty of storage and nice additions like the outlets near the bed and enclosed shower. I missed the hooks by the door when you enter since I had been used to using them for outdoor gear. I was just as glad not to have the table by the sofa as I usually had it removed anyway. The biggest improvement besides the decor was the stations at the buffet which had previously been onS but not M class ships. The Persian Gardens was ok but lacked the windows of-the S Class ships. The solarium area was pleasant and the T pool wonderful. We missed the library which had been on the ships previously. There seemed to be plenty of activities. Unfortunately, show times were moved back to 7:30 and 9:30 which prevented our seeing some of them since we had early am tours. The guest entertainers were good as was the Broadway Cabaret. Trivia, including Broadway trivia, was popular. The Captain’s Club elegant tea remains a favorite. While the food at the MDR and buffet was good, the absence of other dining venues was a drawback. The menus at both the grill and the Aqua spa cafe have been cut back but what is still offered is fine. There is no Murano, the most special of the specialty restaurants. Tuscan had wonderful service but the food was just a-cut above the MDR. And I miss Qsine. Le Petit Chef was fun but lacks the variety of Qsine. I would have liked to eat at Sushi on5 but didn't have a chance. Cafe al Bacio is great but it would be convenient to have an outpost in the buffet. Particularly on longer itineraries it would be good to have more dining choices- and some new menus. We usually do private tours but tried some shore excursions which exceeded my expectations. We are booked on the Summit again for October and this time will board with more positive expectations based on this very pleasant experience . . Read Less

This is our favorite ship having sailed 5 x on her. We love everything about it. For us it is the perfect size and does not have attractions we are not interested in like rock climbing. The food in the MDR is better than Carnival, NCL, HAL, RCCL, Princess, and Costa IMHO. The Blu dining room for Aqua class guests is intimate and wonderful. The Tuscan Grill specialty dining is nice for birthday or such celebrations. All staff from the person keeping an area clean, to stateroom stewards to waitstaff shipwide are top notch. Staterooms are clean and inviting. We also love the itineraries the Summit has. Have several cruises booked with her in the future. The ship is clean and has a good buffet too. The passengers are a good group of people. This past cruise was a nice touch having the Captain greeting passengers on embarkation and again at the end of the cruise. Read Less

Our goal was to find a cruise to test my traveling ability since a medical problem has prevented me from going very far over the past three years. Prior to that I'd been on about 15 cruises. We booked on Celebrity because family members had taken recent cruises and loved them. We chose the Summit for its smaller size and for the first time ever we booked a suite, mainly for comfort because we knew we might have to spend a lot of time there. As it turned out I was comparatively fine. Our balcony with lounge chairs was comfy for reading. We usually went to The Retreat Lounge - coffee, snacks and cocktails during the day - because the ambiance was great and we got to meet and chat with guests and staff. Alexandra was the bartender in the Lounge who was excellent and a very interesting person to get to know. Our concierge staff in the Lounge (Sophie, Georgina and Tony) responded to a few minor problems. They were efficient and very personable. We dined in Luminae for all dinners. Service was superb with special thanks to Kus, Vincent and Vladimir. We did not try the specialty restaurants because we enjoyed Luminae. There were games and trivia which were fun. The itinerary was great for beach lovers. We had to cancel two excursions because of weather and the island tour we took on St Maarten was not very good - driver with no personality and traffic jams, and not much to see.The Summit was very well refurbished ("revolutionized") in 2019. The Captain was gracious as were all the officers. The ship has a state of the art navigation system which will be on every Celebrity ship within the next few years. It was extremely impressive! The kitchen tour was amazing. This is a great ship for almost everyone. Young couples to seniors and everyone in between will find something to do. We will definitely book on Celebrity again - a suite - on the Summit or any of the other three Millenium class ships. Read Less

My husband and I loved the Summit years ago, and it hits a lot of our favorite snorkeling sites. There are many positive changes but NOT to the specialty dining, which is not for me. In the past, we enjoyed the specialty restaurants and service. While enjoying the service and selection of regular dining options, we would NOT especially recommend the Petite Chef and were heartbroken about the change from the Qsine Ipad menu format of the past, which I had looked forward to for a year! My husband enjoyed Tuscan Grill more than I did. I did however, enjoy the food in the main dining room. Service remains at a high standard. Excursions: 2 were cancelled without enough time to find something else, but we enjoyed those days by finding things to do on our own with new cruise friends. BTW, it is easy to do all island visits on your own through the internet and on-shore opportunities. Snorkelers, I am sure you know that many of the reefs are no longer in great shape. So sad. Our best snorkeling was in St. Thomas at Buck Island. I thought we were going on a catamaran but the tour company had the right to switch to a schooner, which I would not do again. If you have any physical difficulty, a catamaran is much easier than a schooner. Embarkation and disembarkation were smooth as silk. Rooms and ship changes: The new bathrooms in the cabins and other changes to the ship are very nice. The outdoor dining area is much easier to traverse as many railings are no longer separating food and seating. Entertainment was very enjoyable and there were plenty of activities. I enjoy the solarium pool a great deal. Read Less

This was our 10th cruise and the first on Celebrity. It was by far the best cruise we've ever taken. The ship is beautiful. The staff is exceptional, I became ill while .sailing and everyone went above and beyond to make sure that I was comfortable.. Our butler Tatiana and cabin steward Zam Zam were incredible. Dining in Luminae had excellent food and outstanding servers. Yuda was the best. Karen at Shore Excursions went above and beyond to assure that we were able to have accessible tours. The only downfall was the entertainment in the theater. It was rather lackluster. We did not stay for a complete show although we tried on 3 different nights From the Retreat Lounge to servers at the Sunset Bar, the medical staff, ,and everyone else it was. an exceptional trip, We will definitely be returning to Celebrity and to the Summit. Thanks to all who made our trip the best way to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Read Less

Good itinerary. Good value. Love to cruise from Puerto Rico - stayed a few extra days to make the airfare affordable. Summit has had a remodel. Well executed. I loved Summit before, and it is still great. Cruising from Puerto Rico is easy. Arrived evening prior, cab to Courtyard Miramar, cab to ship. 'Pueblo' Super Market across street if you need to pick up a couple bottles of wine or other supplies to take aboard. Should have asked Courtyard for room away from kids - my error. Ship was good. Embarkation was the easiest ever. Used the main dining room for all but 1 night, and Dining staff (Donovan) was excellent Celebrity is requiring a long sleeve button down shirt on 'Chic' nights - don't recall that as a previous requirement. They were flexible as I only had a collared golf shirt. Overall food was very good, and plenty of variety. Soups & desserts need a little work. Purchased the premium wine package, but found it difficult to find the premium wines. The Rendevouz Lounge, Sunset Bar, and the Cellar were best places to find the premium wines. We have been to these islands previously, so just did a couple of island bus tours purchased on the dock, and did a little local shopping. We did a "Aqua" trimaran tour for Bonnaire - allowed for viewing of the reef/fish without getting wet. Snorkel was an option. Pretty good, but a little spendy. Will do this or similar trip again. I will say that the flights are a little long from Las Vegas. Enjoy. Read Less