Celebrity Summit Review

Celebrity Summit Bermuda May 26 - June 2 in AquaClass

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Celebrity Summit
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catmommy
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2013

My husband and I took this cruise from Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ) to King's Wharf, Bermuda. Cruise length was 7 days with approximately two and a half days in Bermuda.Our ages are 50 and 53 we have cruised on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas.We had been to Bermuda before so we looked at this trip as more like a “cruise to nowhere” rather than a destination cruise.We left our house in Philadelphia and it took about an hour and a half to reach Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ. We arrived at the port around 1 pm and we dropped off luggage and went through the boarding process in about a half hour, fourty-five minutes. (While waiting to board we got an offer to dine in Quisine on the first night. More on this later.)We got on board around 1:30 pm and our cabin was ready.We were in 9043 which is part of the AquaClass staterooms.The stateroom:9043 (Aqua Class A2) is on the 9th deck, portside, forward. Because of where the cabin is it has extra space on the balcony. It is an Aqua Class cabin and so has some additional amenities. It is under the pool deck. While we did hear some noise from the pool deck, like moving of chairs, it wasn't a problem for us. We had not had a balcony before and we really liked it. We often sat on the balcony and read or watched the water or port.The cabin was fine; everything seemed to work the way it was supposed to except for the message waiting light on the phone which was on almost the whole cruise and was finally fixed on Friday.Our room steward was Reginald. He was fine and met my request for an additional bath towel with no problem.Aqua Class has the following amenities:Welcome Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine Daily Delivery of Afternoon Savories Fresh fruit Fresh flowers Personalized stationery Use of binoculars and golf umbrella Priority check-in Express luggage delivery Personalized Concierge service Priority disembarkation based on your travel needs Complimentary shoeshine service Access to the exclusive Concierge Class Pre-departure Lounge Daily delivery of bottled water and tea Exclusive access to Blu, a specialty restaurant featuring "clean cuisine" that also serves complimentary, full-service breakfast every day Upgraded room service menu Complimentary access to the Persian Garden Aromatherapy diffuser Pillow menu Additional bathroom amenities, including shower gel, facial spray and lip balm Plush Frette® bathrobes Slippers Oversized 100% cotton bath towels On-demand wellness programming including meditation and yoga Hansgrohe® shower panel Fog-free mirror I did not see or ask about the pillow menu, and we did not use the shoeshine, concierge, Persian Garden or departurearrival lounges. We did get several extra gifts like a folding tote bag, a woven bag and flat backpack bag.The Ship:I really liked the ship. I thought it was not too big. I was concerned since we usually like smaller ships and our last three cruises were on the M/S Paul Gaugin which is tiny in comparison to the Summit. I found it easy to get around and we never had to use the elevators, we just took the stairs all over the ship. I liked the public spaces and they never seemed too crowded although I did see crowds at the Cosmopolitan restaurant and at the Martini BarCrush. The theater was sometimes crowded for shows. There was lots of art from the Celebrity collection and it was very challenging and different. I always saw someone cleaning or wiping something down. I thought the ship was well kept. Dining:Blu is available to Aqua Class passengers. It serves as the main restaurant for Aqua Class. It is smaller, 120 seats, and has open seating for breakfast and dinner. I liked the food and service. The menu was different from the main restaurant. We ate in the Cosmopolitan restaurant twice, once for a lunch and once for Saturday brunch. I thought both were ok. The Ocean View cafe is the buffet restaurant. We ate several lunches there. I didn't really like it very much since the food was never hot. The food was not even warm, just room temperature. But the room did flow well and it was very clean.We had crepes in Bistro on Five which has an additional charge of $5, the crepes were good and it was a nice place to take a break.Cafe Al Bacio is both a coffeehouse and gelateria. We did not have any coffee drinks there but we did have gelato twice. We have one of the best gelato places in the country here in Philadelphia and while Cafe Bacio wasn't at their level it was very good. There was a charge for the gelato depending on size.Quisine is an extra charge restaurant. It has an interesting, trendy, menu. It uses iPads as menus and you pick out various food options. I did like the food but found it “gimmicky.” When we were boarding we were approached by one of the Blu waiters who offered us dinner at Quisine that evening for half price. We took the offer and ate at Quisine for $45 dollars for the two of us.We also ate one night in the Normandie restaurant which is a take on french cooking. They do some tableside preparations like dessert crepes. We also did get a discount there as well paying $60 dollars for the two of us instead of the usual $90.We drank very little; having a few cocktails and having a half bottle of champagne over the course of the cruise. The pricing was typical for restaurants or bars in our area.Entertainment:We saw all of the shows each evening except for the “Sirens” show which we missed for an excusion. I found the productions shows just “ok.” There were lots of broadway songs which I'm just not a fan of. There was a comedian one night who was funny and family-friendly. Also one of the “Lettermen” performed. The group is before my time but he did put on a nice show. 54 Below brings broadway stars to perform and then they do a Q & A. I did like this very much.We did not see any of the other entertainers who sang in the bars around the ship. Shopping on board:The shops on the Summit are clustered on deck 5. They have the usual shops but also have a Tag Heuer shop and an Apple store on board. I found the prices not too much more expensive than what you would find on land. They had the typical “sales” like inch of gold and logo branded stuff. The shops were closed while we were docked in Bermuda.There was also the Park West art sales. We went to one for the free sparkling wine and I actually won a bottle. Spa:The AquaSpa was on deck 10. I won a spa treatment in the raffle and also signed up for a massage. I wanted a bamboo massage but instead got a hot stone massage on the suggestion of the massage therapist. I liked the massage and while they did try to sell me product they weren't heavy handed. I won an Ionithermie treatment. This is anti-cellulite treatment. I wouldn't have done it ordinarily but since I won it I did it. The treatment rooms were clean and the therapists were friendly and seemed competent.My husband ran on the deck everyday and I ran once. I found the track too crowded with walkers but my husband wasn't bothered by that as much as I was. (I can't run on a treadmill because it makes me dizzy.)Bermuda:We'd been to Bermuda several times so we treated this cruise as a cruise to nowhere. We did go to Hamilton for the Harbour Nights festival. The ship also offered this as an excursion. We took the ferry which was four dollars each way per person. This made it way cheaper than the ship's offering.Hamilton had changed; there were many closed stores and it seemed more shabby than it had years ago. It also seemed as if there weren't as many vendors as there were in the past. It was disappointing.We also purchased rum cakes at the dockyard.I did enjoy this cruise and would suggest the Summit for anyone who wanted a quick easy get-a-way from Bayonne, NJ.

Cabin Review

Cabin 1A

Larger balcony. Some noise from the pool deck above. Good location nearer to stairs and AquaSpa.

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