Background - We are a family of four that loves cruising. We are avid Royal Caribbean cruisers, but have also cruised on NCL, Carnival and Cunard. My wife and I are in our forties and our two boys are ages 12 and 6. This was our first time on Celebrity Cruises, but we were given Elite member status due to our Diamond level status on Royal Caribbean and they offer matching benefits on Celebrity. This was our 17th cruise overall.

Embarkation - Cape Liberty Cruise Port (Bayonne, NJ) is an easy point of embarkation for cruise passengers. The port services ships from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. We arrived at the pier at 10:45am and were on the ship by 12:15pm. There was a bit of a delay due to a surprise US Coast Guard safety inspection and a USPH health inspection. Normally the embarkation process is faster. Given the pop inspections, I'll excuse the delay we experienced.

Ship Information - The Celebrity Summit entered service in 2001. Not that long ago, but the ship is considered an older one in the cruise industry. The ship was tastefully decorated and was not showing much wear and tear. The crew spends alot of time maintaining the ship and it shows. The handrails were a little worn, but that was about it. The ship is well designed and easy to navigate. The only choke point for passenger flow is in the Waterfall Cafe. This is the ship's buffet area on the aft end of the ship. It is an old style buffet line (not stations like newer ships)that tends to back up when crowded. You cannot take your own food. The crew behind the buffet gives the food you request and places it on a very hot plate. Unless you want salad or fruits, do not take a plate at the beginning of the line. Take your tray and silverware and wait for the plate when you ask for the food. The pool area is small and can get congested on sea days, but we never had a problem finding a chair or having fun in the pool or the hot tubs. Read more