Celebrity Summit Review
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We enjoy the smaller mid-sized ships and this was no exception! We had previously sailed on Celebrity Solstice for 4 back to back cruises in 2013, and found it to be a wonderful experience, so we have now experienced the older style ship also. Where Solstice is much larger you actually don't notice its size in getting around the ship, due to its excellent design, but its not until you experience a cruise on Summit, that you really notice the difference, being smaller means you actually get to know not only the crew more intimately, but also are able to be likely to meet up with your fellow passengers, and on this trip we met so many fabulous people, some will be friends forever. This ship is really in excellent condition despite her age and that she is nearly due for a refurbishment. The general areas are well kept and clean and the staff extremely attentive.
CABIN
We had a Celebrity Suite 8106, our Butler, Sebastian was absolutely wonderful, and our cabin steward was also excellent. This is the smallest of the Suite class cabins, but it is very spacious, offering a separate bedroom with a walk-in closet and my favourite thing was the dresser area! The lounge area was large right next to the very large picture window which opens out onto a reasonable size balcony; previously these cabins did not have a balcony until the last refurbishment, which I would have had mixed thoughts on. There is a large flat screen TV in the lounge area and a 4 seater round dining table, with an older style and rather lavish glass buffet cabinet overlooking the table (really quite old fashioned and totally unnecessary). The large size sofa acts as a sofa bed, it is an open out innerspring style, but I must say that the whole sofa was in desperate need of replacement, we had our elderly Mother travelling with us who was meant to sleep on this sofa bed, but it was so old and worn out, the springs were sagging into the middle and gave her a terrible sore back, we had to request them bring a rollaway bed for her instead, this was apparently the only option, not at all adequate, especially as we had purposely selected this cabin purely for the spring action sofa bed for my Mothers comfort! The rollaway really was not satisfactory either, but unfortunately had no alternative. The bathroom was really very small for a suite, having a spa bath taking up most of the small area, and I must warn that the bath was set so high up, you actually needed to step up into it, but then of course had to be extremely careful stepping down to get out, so much so, that luckily our Butler organised a small wooden, purpose built step to place in front of the bath in order for my Mother to negotiate the step! The bathroom however, was inside the bedroom area, therefore, in order to get to the bathroom, you had to walk right through the bedroom, which was a real nuisance for my Mother to get to, especially during the night! But please be aware, this Celebrity Suite has not been refurbished except for perhaps the carpets and maybe the drapes, the style is elegant but old fashioned, nothing at all like on Solstice class ships.
Cabin Review
Celebrity Suite
Port Reviews
Saint John (New Brunswick)
We had pre organaised a private tour with Roy Flowers, who did not wait for us to get off the ship, and took alternate passengers instead, even after I had told him we would be slow having my elderly Mother who was slow walking. After having to ask strangers at the port to phone this guy and who hung up on the first call a lovely man had agreed to make using his cell phone for us! I would not recommend Roy Flowers tours to anyone!!
Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island)
We organised a private tour with Harry Moreland, who was excellent. Harry was by leaps and bounds by far our best private tour operator and would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone, he was a local Prince Edward Islander, and his wife's family were some of the original settlers of Prince Edward Island, he was so very knowledgeable and took us right around the island stopping at a fabulous café for lunch which had the best seafood chowder and local oysters I have every eaten!! Well done Harry, you are a gem!!
Quebec City
We had organised a private tour with Tours Voir Quebec, and had Marie as our guide, she was exceptional and so caring toward my elderly Mum. The tour was extensive, taking us to Saint Anne de Beaupre, magnificent basilica out of Quebec City, also to Montmorency Falls, a drive over to the island with the wonderful vineyards and around Old Town Quebec. We specifically needed a tour that offered mostly driving and little walking due to my Mothers inability to walk long distances and Marie delivered that well, I would highly recommend this company to anyone, especially for mobility challenged people. It was not cheap, but well worth the money.
Halifax
We had organised a private tour through Lucinda of Halifax Cruise Ship Taxi tours, they were very good. Our driver was excellent and very knowledgeable, we visited Peggys Cove and also selected our very own live lobster at a wholesale seafood company who cooked it to perfection and we enjoyed it with hot butter.
Portland (Maine)
We organised a private tour with The Scenic Route, they offered two separate tours for cruise passengers, the first being a city tour of Portland, and we then also opted to take the Kennebunkport tour in the afternoon, which the highlight of the tour was meant to be viewing of the George Bush summer home, but unfortunately that was left to the very last part of the day, and we were caught in a torrential storm right around the time we were to have lunch in Kennebunkport, so by the time we had left there the weather was closing in fast and so was the daylight, so we really could not see the Bush compound at all, such a shame they had left it till the end of the day! But we must commend our driver for getting us back safely to the ship in that awful weather.
Bar Harbor
We just did our own thing and walked around Bar Harbour, such a beautiful quaint little town with much to do and see. We also took Ollys Trolleys up to Acadia National Park, which afforded a spectacular view out over the bay and our ship on the way up, but be warned, the weather can turn foul up at that altitude in an instant, and by the time to made it to the top, the fog and clouds were literally floating right through the trolley! But back down in the town the weather was beautiful, weird!! Well worth the money for the Trolley tour though, most informative, would definitely recommend. Also make sure you take a walk around the town and sample some of the best blueberry pie!
Bayonne (Cape Liberty)
We did not take a tour around Bayonne although we stayed in Manhattan for several days to experience New York which was wonderful. We took an organised tour with a small group called Onboard Tours, which took you in and around the Manhattan tourist spots. The guide, Tyler was wonderful, she actually walked you into all the relevant areas, such as Central Park at Strawberry Fields, Wall Street, 9/11 Memorial, and even took us on the Staten Island Ferry! For a very reasonable cost for 5 and a half hours, it was an exceptional way of an introduction to New York. I would most definitely recommend them to anyone, especially those with mobility issues, they treated my Mother very well, and she managed to walk into the various attractions, and then had a rest while back on the small size bus. This was an immersive tour with a difference, not just sitting on a bus and having things pointed out, you actually got off the bus and walked into the sights and with Tyler's excellent knowledge really gained a complete understanding of everything.
Saguenay
Our arrival in Saguenay was the inaugural visit for Celebrity Summit, and we were greeted by the most beautiful and friendly people all wearing their native traditional period costumes regailing us with homemade blueberry pie! We took a private tour with Fjord Et Monde on a small tour bus with only approx. 20 passengers, they were excellent, our guide was hilarious! We toured the township of Saguenay and then went out to the countryside along the Fjord and out to a lookout, where we were greeted with the most beautiful Fjord, it was pristine, apparently some say the Norwegians are jealous of Saguenay Fjord, I can see why! We stopped at a quaint little French village and managed to use our very little French skills to peruse the menu, having ordered Chocolate crepes, magnifique! It was a wonderful experience and would highly recommend them.