Celebrity Summit Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My family and I are just back from a wonderful cruise to Bermuda aboard the Celebrity Summit form May 25 to June 1, 2014. Before I get into the meat of the review, I figure that a little background information would help.
We have taken a few different kinds of family vacations prior to this year - a cruise, a couple of trips to Disney World, an all-inclusive, camping trips, and visits to family. So while we are not quite seasoned cruisers, we do have some travelling experience - and do have a couple of cruises under our belts, including the Weezer cruise from Florida to Cozumel with the family aboard the Carnival Destiny (now Sunshine) and our honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean aboard the RCI Splendour of the Seas.
Some general comments - the Splendour cruise was 11 years ago, so a bit hard to compare - back then, they had things like midnight chocolate buffets, but there were limited entertainment and dining options compared to today. The Destiny was clearly an inferior ship to the 2 others I've been on in terms of layout and food quality, but the rooms were nicer than on the Splendour and the entertainment provided by a number of indie rock bands was incredible.
Cabin Review
We were in the Family Veranda cabin 8181. This is the corner FV on the 8th deck port side, 2 decks below the smoking section of the Mast bar (or whatever the bar behind the buffet is called!). We didn't smell any smokers at all, although there weren't many on the ship it seemed. Still though - smoking was most definitely not a problem. The room was very spacious - it felt like a suite what with the separate room for the kids, a huge comfortable bed for us, and an awesome balcony that was about the same size as the large room. The panoramic views were incredible, whether it be on sail away from New York or from Bermuda; in port in Bermuda with a view that stretched from Pembroke parish on one side through to the Southampton Princess, the lighthouse, and Sandy's parish all the way to Dockyard on the other side; or at sea, being able to look fore or aft, starboard or port side…it was incredible. There was a dining table with 6 chairs, 2 further chairs to sit on, and 2 lounge chairs. Meaning, yes - there were 10 chairs and a large round dining table on our balcony! The chairs were all new, or at least seemed that way (the chairs on the pool deck were all new a few weeks ago and these are a similar design). This was really an ideal room for a family in many ways: I like the idea that the kids can't leave the room without passing through our part of the room (additional security), it just appeals to the protective side of my nature. Price-wise, this room was less expensive than getting 2 adjoining ocean-view rooms, and a bit more than getting 2 adjoining inside staterooms - though the insides don't come with beverage packages, so the math is a bit more complicated when comparing inside prices to any other room as you really need to figure our what the beverage package is worth to you. We basically came to the conclusion that this was exactly the right type of room for us, and the fact that we really enjoyed the aft-facing room we had had on the Splendour in '03, it was a safe bet. I really enjoy the feeling of these aft-facing rooms for a number of reasons: first, you really feel like you're on a boat as opposed to a floating city when you sit there and watch the wake. Secondly, the world really melts away since it's a much more private type of setting; and third, I'm a huge "sound" guy. I don't watch much TV, but do listen to a lot of music - as such, the sound of the water swishing away at the aft is just really amazing.