I enjoyed my cruise on the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda. I have cruised many times to Bermuda on different lines and I have cruised to extensively on all the major brands to many destinations. The last time I cruised with Celebrity was in 2001 so it was nice to return. Of course nothing stays the same and unfortunately some things that I loved about Celebrity has changed. Gone are pianos and harps playing instead DJs are playing in the main lobby. This kind of takes away from the elegance of it all. I am in my late thirties so I am guessing Celebrity is trying to appeal to people younger than I? They just seem like they can’t find their target audience. In any case, the Summit looks great after her renovation. I loved the interior design and the look of the staterooms. The only place they didn’t renovate was Cellar Masters and Sushi on 5. All in all she looks fairly new. The food was good to average as was service. The buffet restaurant flowed well and had a great selection of food. Embarkation was easy as was the departure. Entertainment seemed plentiful and while the shows were good the performers were excellent. The captain and his officers were very visible and courteous. This was my 10th time visiting Bermuda and it never disappoints. In my opinion, it is one of the best islands that offer some of the best beaches. Simply put, Bermuda is beautiful and I could have stayed a few more days! With all the alterations the Summit has had over the years, the ship doesn’t flow so well like she used to. Sushi on 5 blocks the flow of traffic, the added cabins on deck 11 block the jogging track and the new cabins added on deck 3 hide the Tuscan Grill. You have to go on hunt to find that restaurant. For the life of me I don’t get how they can do that but I guess they paid someone big bucks to come up with that idea. There are no longer any printed directories in the cabin so there is no way of knowing the number of room service or other services for that matter. Even guest relations gave me a wrong number for room service. I traveled with a few other people in cabins scattered around the ship. The inconsistencies with cabin amenities was rather large. My room did not have the advertised robes and tote bag other rooms had that and umbrellas, others had none of the advertised amenities. For me I personally do not care if I don't have robes but they do advertise these amenities. They also push beverage packages and upgrades very aggressively on embarkation day. Many crew would not take no for an answer which was rather uncomfortable. Overall, I had a great time and I would sail Celebrity again if they had an interesting itinerary. Sad to say but I felt Celebrity fell a little flat in some areas hopefully they will make changes. Read Less

This cruise was organized by the friends with whom we traveled. They have many years more cruise experience than my wife and I, and we were not disappointed at all. From the choice of cabin level, to the incredible service, to the varied options and outstanding quality of the food choices (not to mention the beauty of our destination - Bermuda), the week was an absolute pleasure! From our room steward (Omar), to the dining room wait staff, to each and every service person on board the ship (including, but not limited to, the cruise director, the captain himself, and the entertainers), the level of sincere concern for our safety, comfort, and pleasure was unparalleled. The embarkation and disembarkation processes were completely painless. We were onboard within minutes, and we were in our car in the parking garage at Bayonne within minutes, as well. We did not partake in any of the excursions offered by the ship, choosing, instead, to go by minibus to Horseshoe Bay beach. It was, in my opinion, the best way to get to the beach for two reasons: it was affordable ($7 per person, each way), and it dropped you right at the entrance of Horseshoe Bay Beach. A private taxi would have dropped you there, as well, but the fare was around $40 each way. A public transportation bus would have been less expensive than the minibus, but it drops you at the top of the hill heading to the beach. The climb up a fairly long, steep hill (especially after a few hours in the hot sun) looked pretty exhausting. There are also several packages that offer discounts on public transportation, which we chose to bypass since our goal was simply to get to the beach. We loved Horseshoe Bay so much, we decided to go back a second time two days later. We happened to be in Bermuda during their two day Emancipation National Holiday, during which almost the entire island shuts down. We stayed on board the ship during day two in Bermuda (which was day one of the holiday). I would highly recommend taking the public ferry from King's Wharf (where the ship docks) to either Hamilton or St. George (or both). It is such a pleasurable ride, offering some unique views of the island, as well as King's Wharf. The ferry is normally $4.50 per person each way. It was $5 the day we went, due to "holiday pricing." The food on board the ship did not disappoint. From the hamburgers and hot dogs by the pool, to the vast variety of quality buffet choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and late night snacking (not to mention the ice cream, froyo, and gelato choices), to the excellent choices in the main dining room, there was no lack of fine quality cuisine from beginning to end. And, I have never seen a staff do more cleaning than the buffet staff. Simply outstanding. Our nightly wait staff in the main dining room of Douglas (waiter), Komang (bus boy), and Yesh (sommelier) were the best! The entertainment was also top notch. The theater was comfortable, and easy to get in and out of both prior to and after each performance, with a very attentive bar wait staff. The comedians and singers were outstanding. My only slight criticism would be the cabaret performances presented. They were just a slight notch below the level of the other performers, except for the aerialists, and the male and female acrobatic dancers, both of whom were incredible. The Summit is a bit of a smaller ship. The two pools (the main pool varies in depth from 5 ft 6 inches deep to 6 ft 2 inches deep, and the smaller pool has a uniform 4 ft depth) on board the ship don't have any of the amenities of some larger ships (e.g. - no slides or tubes, etc). There are a couple of hot tubs. There is an area on board (near the spa and fitness center) called The Solarium which is a glass enclosed pool area that has in-pool lounge areas with water jet massages, as well as some in pool shower type massage areas. The Solarium Spa Cafe also offers some healthier food choices and smoothies. There are no shortages of lounge chairs throughout the ship, as well as areas to escape the hustle and bustle of the main pool area. A great amenity is an outdoor area at the rear of the ship on deck 12 called the Rooftop Terrace which contains a series of couches and comfy lounge areas with a large screen for viewing movies and such throughout the day. A great area, again, to escape. I would definitely make this same trip again, in a heartbeat, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great overall cruise experience. Read Less

My daughter and I had cruised Anthem 2 yrs ago on the 4 night to Bermuda and while there were some issues on the cruise, we decided to try the 5 night to Bermuda. Overall, I was very happy with the cruise. Room- We again had a room with the large balcony at a good location near the elevators. The room was spotless and our steward, Carlton was very nice and provided me with extra towels when I asked for them. The issue with the horrible beds continued, though we did ask for and get toppers for them. For the first time though in a while on RCCl we had very loud and obnoxious neighbors blasting music . Key program -We had The Key program- I was not sure how it would work out, but in the end the benefits we used were great and I would do this again. We got there at 11 so missed the early embarkation but the Key had a designated check in anyhow. We had lunch when we boarded in one of the dining rooms from the Chops menu. We left a carry on near the dining room when we boarded. During the cruise we got a fruit plate. We did not use the priority time for Bermuda. We were able to book North Star through the Key, though in the end cancelled but could have used Stand By. (It had not been available on the Cruise Planner). We got a discount at Izumi. We did not see any shows this time. Best was the departure. We had breakfast and getting off the ship was super easy, as the Key employee guided us off, through the pier , to the luggage and got us into a fast customs line. I would definitely do The Key again. Internet and Drink Package- I booked the Deluxe package with internet before I realized I had booked the Key months earlier ( forgetful sometimes....) and because I did not want to cancel and rebook, we ended up with 4 internet packages. This actually worked out well as I could use my phone and computer at same time, and daughter her iPad and phone. No, I would not do that again, but it worked well this time. The drink package is totally worth it. Food- there were some issues here but they related to booking only. I had booked the Chefs Table and 3 night dining package through the Cruise Planner. We generally only eat in specialty restaurants and before I always booked pre cruise, but decided to save money this time. I did not really like running around on the first day to get the restaurants booked. We went to a gentleman in Chops first to check on the 3 nights, and the first night he claimed we were in Jamie's at 9.30 when I had booked for 8 pm times but we switched it to Wonderland and then Jamies and Chops at the end of the week. However, when I checked several times before the second to last night when we had Jamie's, and even that day the reservation was either lost or at a wrong time. I will say that the food in all the restaurants we ate in was excellent. In fact, Wonderland, which had been disappointing 2 yrs ago, and on the Symphony in Nov., was fantastic and we ended up eating there the last night again instead of Chops. Our server , Gabino, was great. We had him as our server both nights. Instead of eating in Hamilton on the night in Bermuda, my daughter ate in Izumi and I joined her for a salad as I dislike sushi. Our server, Jofel, was also super. When I said I wanted a burger he went downstairs to the pub and ordered one for me and brought it back to me. He also brought my daughter back from that deck the special pineapple drink. I got room service in the morning as I like to drink coffee on the balcony. It came promptly each morning. We also ordered from the room service menu at the pool as we booked the sunbeds, and I thought the Greek salad was very good as well. Chefs Table was exceptional and food allergies and preferences were easily accommodated. Shows- we did not see any this cruise. Last cruise we walked out on Spectra's Cabaret as we both thought it awful. Bars- on this cruise, Boleros was definitely the best . The bartenders were friendly and helpful. I enjoyed the music at night also. Schooner Bar had one of the rudest bartenders. Pool- I splurged and we enjoyed the sun beds outside the North Star Bar area on the sea days.I had seen them 2 yrs prior and knew to book them as soon as I got on the ship. For us, this was the best deal on the ship. Though expensive, we had great service throughout the day from Abraham, bottles of water, a bottle of champagne ( which I took home), and lunch from the Room Service menu. The pool was jammed on sea days and the chair hogs were out. We were told that some people were out at 4.30 am putting towels on chairs. For the first time, though, we did see a pool worker confiscate towels and put peoples' possession in plastic bags after a long period of time had gone by, but that was only on the first sea day. Bermuda- we were not overwhelmed. The island is very expensive and because I knew transportation by taxi can be costly, and difficult from some areas, we had made plans to be in Hamilton one day and possibly a beach the second. We ferried over to Hamilton but were underwhelmed . My daughter had hoped to buy a pair of sandals at the specialty sandal shop where they are hand made for you while you wait. However, the clerk was very unfriendly and dismissive. We decided to go back to the ship and went to Snorkel Park. That too was expensive for 2 chairs and an umbrella ($40). Beach was tiny and dirty. When we left we went shopping in the Clocktower and had lunch at Frog and Onion which was expensive. The second day we did the ship excursion to Clearwater Beach which involves an hour ride to St George and back. The tour was ok, but not worth the cost. I was not impressed by the beach. The host for the beach, though, was very nice. Parking- drop off of bags and parking was not difficult. The crowd is predominately from the tri state area- NY, NJ Pa , and surrounding states. That said, some were very rude, some teens were horrible, some people cut in front of you , some just very unfriendly, ( ie. at Chefs Table where in the past we found people were usually friendly, one group of 6 moved their chairs so they could all sit at one end, and never spoke to the other 6 of us), but overall we just dealt with it and in fact, booked another cruise over the holidays. Read Less

Our first cruise on the Anthem!! This is our biggest ship we have been on and absolutely loved it! The style and decor is so wonderful! The pools are beautiful and the solarium so pretty! We had an ocean view balcony on deck 8 but would recommend higher as the life boats were just below. The stateroom has so much storage and modern decor. We loved wonderland but missed the grand feel of the main dining room with the smaller dining areas. The food was excellent in the windjammer- better than previous ships. We were only disappointed with Jamie Oliver’s dining and that we never met our stateroom attendant ! In the past they always come and introduce themselves. We loved the overnight stay in Bermuda and would definitely return there! Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze! Cruising out of the Cape Liberty port gave us a great extended trip in NYC! Read Less

This was our 3rd trip on Summit. Other two in Carb. (with Capt. Kate). This was first trip after refit. Ship looks great! Weather was fine the whole week. Had worries about driving up from VA but trips up and back went fairly smoothly. We had a room with an joining door. That door let a lot of noise pass through. Trip to concierge desk fixed that problem. Crew came in and taped around door. Problem fixed. Sounds like this is a common complaint as crewman had done the fix before. Ship's crew very visible and easy to talk with. Saw the captain walking around ship many times. Our 3rd trip to Bermuda and will probably go again in a couple of years. We don't rent the mopeds anymore but public transportation is fun and inexpensive. The ferrys are crowded but get you around quickly. This time we went to Hamilton on Wed. for their block party. Only went to one onboard show. It included the airolist couple which by themselves make it worth staying up late to see. Because of the higher cost, we usually don’t book excursions through the ship. We did a snorkeling trip on the “pink boat” and had a great time. Read Less

Have taken many cruises over the years. With the exception of 2 cruises, we always cruised Royal Caribbean. After the last cruise, 2 years ago on the Anthem, we decided to try Celebrity. The service was 100% better! From the moment we went aboard, we received excellent service with a smile. It seems every employee is happy and walks around with a smile and kind word, If you ask them where something is, they take you there! One of the disappointments on our last RC cruise was not having enough staff to service the passengers. We had a drink package and it was an effort to get a drink! On Celebrity, we were asked numerous times by numerous staff if we needed a drink. This was at EVERY bar. In the Main dining room, you had a drink server, sommelier, waiter, asst waiter and maitre D. On the Anthem, our Asst waiter was actually making the drinks and they didn't arrive until after dinner came! Our first night in the Main dining room, we were not happy with the location of our table which was near the serving station. When we left, we asked if we could change. They said they were all reserved and they would try. We arrived in our room the next day and a note with our new table was listed. Food was really good in the dining room. The Oceanview Cafe had a great buffet, nice selection of food, tables cleaned quickly, and managers constantly overseeing the operation. I am not really a buffet person, but ate there quite often. We tried 2 Specialty Restaurants, Tuscan Grill and Qsine. Both excellent. Qsine was very interesting, an eclectic restaurant with various types of food. Order on an Ipad and let them know when you are full. We initially ordered too much and they stopped when we were finished. The cabin was very nice. We usually do inside, husband likes the darkness in the room. The bed was so comfortable, almost as good as the Marriott beds. The bathroom is very small, but I liked the rectangular shower better than the oval. Less shelves on the sink but it worked. The place was immaculate and our attendant had a great sense of timing when he came to clean. The Celebrity has an older population (40 plus) than the RC large ships (Allure) and very few kids, which was a plus. Not as many activities for them as the splashier ships. The layout of the ship is nice. The shops are all at one end, much classier than the other ships. No blocking the walk way with tables of sale items. Very relaxing cruise, we booked another for next year. Read Less

I chose this for the Bermuda cruise. Getting on the ship was easy. Luggage survived and was delivered on time. Upon first inspection everything seemed fine. We opened the mini bar and noticed that $110.00 worth of items missing and a half eaten piece of cake was in it. We contacted the cabin steward and he didn't seem to concerned. Placed a call to guest services and they sent two managers up. We asked for the mini bar to be emptied since we don't consume alcohol. They next morning the cabin steward confronted us about it stating he knew about the missing items. That was unnecessary! We purchased the premium non alcoholic Drink package. Getting more then one water that was cold was almost impossible. What smelled like raw sewage lingered around the ship during the 7 days. Keep a very close eye on charges. My husbands credit card had tips in it from the martini bar. We never went to the martini bar. All gratuities included with the package we purchased. We don't mind tipping. My husband has to use a mobility scooter and the entrance ways to a lot of the doors did not have little ramps. This caused the scooter to get stuck. We got concerned because the scooter starting making a loud clicking noise from the left rear wheel. Getting on and off the ship in Bermuda was a breeze. The food in the aft was buffet style and sub par. Select dining was okay except we had to sit 2 feet away from the couple next to us. We requested private dining. Didn't happen. On board entertainment was okay. The cruise director was very pleasant.The activities director was outstanding. They did a little update via the TV in the room everyday. Stateroom had plenty of space for our severe over packing. We booked a excursion prior to the trip. Checked the current info and charges on the TV and noticed that both of us had extra $54.00 dollars in credit. So we went to cruise services desk and asked why? They cancelled our excursion. Instead of putting the full amount back on my husband's credit card they split it down the middle. Upset about that . Proceeded back to the room and we had a voicemail stating it was cancelled. Kind of stung a bit since we already found out about it 45 minutes prior. This was our first cruise and a learning experience. It didn't help that a new building was being erected straight below our balcony in Bermuda. Do not rent the little electric orange cars next to clock tower mall. Disaster!!!!! Was not maintained or fully charged. Broke down. This happened to another couple late at night. One thing I need to add. Look at the phone in the state room before using it. Ours had something hard stuck all over the mouth piece. Nasty Read Less

Our kids booked us on this cruise, along with ours son, two daughters and their spouses. There were also 6 grandchildren. Though the whole cruise was wonderful the dining experience in the Cosmopolitan on the 5th deck was what we looked forward to. The person in charge of our table was Ansa and she made the whole dining experience delightful. She remembered all of our names, paid special attention to the two youngest children and was a delight to be around. Everyone who worked with her were absolutely beyond enjoyable. The food was excellent and the choice was varied and plentiful. I loved the fact that the plates were not stuffed but were a good amount for a meal. The variation was fun and there was always something for everyone. Loved the views from the windows and the service was great. Embarkation and disembarkation was very easy, especially for someone in a wheelchair. Our cabin was hugh and I loved Charlie, our cabin attendant. He was very quick to straighten our room and we hardly ever saw him. But he did an excellent job. Port of call was wonderful and loved the shore excursions. Glass bottom boat trip was great. The only drawback to me was the way the cafe or buffet was set up. You had to do a lot of walking to get the food that you liked for lunch or breakfast. Just wish it had not been spread out so much but the food was great. Read Less

We chose this cruise to accommodate a friend who taught school. Everybody had a good time. The biggest problem was in the Cosmopolitan Restaurant as some of the items were overcooked. We ended up having most of our lunches and dinners in the Ocean View Cafe and it was quite good. One has to be very careful walking on that deck. Regarding the time spent ashore, the walk from the gangway to the meeting place was quite long. Since I'm now using a cane, it was difficult to get around St. George and the Royal Naval Dockyard. I recommend an informal restaurant there that served excellent pizza. Several nights we attended the theater shows (mostly musical revues) and they were excellent. I especially liked the group Uptown. I also enjoyed participating in the trivia contests. Our last night on board we had dinner in the Tuscan Grille. Their selection was fantastic. Also, since we had a tad left in the shipboard account we distributed it as tips. Our friend found several nice purchases at the shops in the dockyard and St George. Embarkation was OK and disembarkation went much better after the first 3 groups left the ship. Read Less

Celebrity Cruise line is not perfect, but is still leagues (pun intended) ahead of other lines (Carnival and Princess) we have cruised with. As a couple approaching our senior citizen years, the quiet options available in the Solarium area, with its saltwater pool and indoor comfort were a huge comfort throughout the cruise. We lived in the Solarium. Back to the beginning, our embarkation was effortless and although it took 20 minutes to gain access to our staterooms after we took care of our passport and clearance necessities, we felt that we were moving along fairly well. Also, the stateroom steward was very helpful and always there for any requests. I cannot even come close to expressing my delight with the Cosmopolitan Dining Room (MDR) because the food was certainly good most nights (not all...) and the service from out trio of servers (sommelier Lenworth, saucier Albert, and server Jaime) was hand-to-foot exceptional. Everything we wanted we got and everything we didn't want, they cheerfully replaced. The Oceanview Café was exceptional for a buffet, with a few glitches in the food, but overall, for me, 70-80% of the food was fresh and flavorful. Buy the drink package because it is a gem. I ordered cocktails, beers, sodas, lattes, and anything I wanted every day without paying an extra dime. The upfront cost for the package was far exceeded by the usage. I also paid for the WiFi, which was quite awful. Yes, this is a ship and one cannot expect great WiFi, but if you're charging as much as they do, you either deliver a better product or lower the cost. Lastly, Bermuda is gorgeous, but unlike other Caribbean 'like' destintations (Bermuda is not in the Caribbean), beaches and the town of Hamilton (where the swankier shops are) is not easily accessible. There are some fun and interesting shops near King's Wharf, but I can't see spending all my time in that one limited area. The entertainment was not as ghastly as I thought it would be. Reviews have been much more negative than the converse, but I found the entertainment to be lively and energetic, albeit not anywhere close to Broadway quality. In summary, I would most definitely cruise on the Summit again, but if I chose to visit Bermuda again, it would be at one of the resorts, not on a cruise ship. Read Less

Arrival: We are two women in our 50s who wanted a relaxing vacation. One of us had sailed on the Celebrity Summit multiple times before while the other is a relative newcomer to the Celebrity line with two previous trips on the Equinox. We arrived at the port at about 10 a.m. There were essentially no lines for check in. As Aquaclass passengers, we were seated in a designated section and permitted to board at 11 a.m. This process was seamless and efficient. The stateroom: Stateroom 9048 was ready when we arrived, which is pretty impressive. Our travel agent warned us that this was forward, but it is central enough to be considered midship. The staterooms has been refurbished and the stateroom color palette is an inviting warm driftwood with blush accents. There is ample storage for clothing; drawers are situated throughout the cabin. We had twin beds, a desk and chair and an oversized armchair. There is no table which some other reviewers have lamented. However, we didn’t really miss the table, and its absence opens up the room. We also never use room service, so we don’t need a table. There is a table and two chairs with headcushions on the balcony, so one could eat out there. The bathroom is very efficiently designed with a good-sized stall shower with rainshower head and sink and toilet. There are multiple shelves for storing toiletries and Bigelow products for hair and bath, which are of a good quality and pleasant to smell without being overwhelming. One small note is that the closet has yoga mats in it in keeping with the wellness theme of the Aquaclass. However, these mats take up a lot of space. We found it easier to place them atop the closet. We would also suggest that, since it is not possible to do yoga on the scant floor space of a stateroom, that Aquaclass include at least one complimentary yoga class with the mats or store them elsewhere and make them to available to guests who ask. Certainly, it’s nice to have a yoga mat, but it’s not really a special amenity since if one were to pay for a yoga class upstairs in the fitness center, one would get a mat anyway. Public spaces: Public spaces are plentiful and attractive. We were impressed by the consistent cleanliness of this ship. All of the furniture in the lounges and seating areas was in good repair. The walls are freshly painted and the carpets are clean and fairly new. Many of the design themes make use of bold color and light to dramatic, but not Las Vegas cheesy effect. The lounges and bars are inviting with clean modern lines. It’s also common to see savory plants throughout the ship.Some of the accent artwork is a little off-putting such as the sculptures of heads on each floor of the staircase. Safety drill: From my perspective, safety drills are like dental work. They can be painless and over in a minute or agonizing and long. Luckily, our safety drill fell into the first category. Our muster station was the upper level of the Theater. Crew members guided us to our area where we were seated and listened to instructions from the crew onstage. It was very easy to hear and understand and we did not feel like our time was wasted as I did two years ago when the Celebrity Equinox was using a James Bond style video story to provide safety drills. This drill was clear and succinct and we did not have to bring our life preservers. Dining: We dined at Blu, the dining room dedicated to Aquaclass’s 240 guests. Blu is an intimate dining room that offers healthy options that are extremely flavorful and diverse. The breakfast menu is good, but a little limited if you don’t like eggs. We would suggest the addition of waffles and oatmeal. The staff at Blu is excellent. Special thanks to Yerangel, our waiter, Rusti, our assistant, Anastasia, the sommelier, Rusian, the beverage server and Michael from Kenya. The wait staff are extremely professional and attentive. We never waited for anything that we requested and they were familiar with our preferences early in the cruise. Dinner at Blu was also very good. Particular stand out dishes were the lamb chop salad, the grilled tuna salad, the stuffed turkey and the T-Bone steak with white bean salad. The menu always has an entree salad, which is an excellent feature for health conscious guests. We also enjoyed the lavash bread very much. Desserts were consistently good and we appreciated the daily sorbet choice and the inclusion of many fruit based desserts, especially the olive oil cremeux with mandarin oranges. Blu’s decor is very attractive and modern; the blue and white palette evokes the colors of the ocean and compliments the wide, round windows that overlook the water. These tables are often in demand unless it is very sunny out. Note that Blu does not serve lunch. No reservations are required for Aquaclass guests. Suite guests may dine at Blu, but must make reservations. Formal night meant cocktail dresses and suits, not gowns and tuxedos. Buffet: We dined the buffet every day for lunch. It is spotless and well-designed. There are discreet hand-washing stations to encourage guests to wash their hands before dining rather than just using the standard Purell. We found that there was sufficient seating, although it was a little busy on embarkation day. There are a variety of choices, including Indian and Asian stations, a salad bar and a make your own specialty salad bar, a cheese station, an elaborate bread station, a grill station, a grilled vegetable section, an extensive fresh fruit selection, cold cuts and a pastry station. “Scoops” features ice cream and sorbet. There is also a kids station with child friendly pasta, pizza and chicken. Most of the food at the buffet was very good and the beverage servers are efficient. There is also tea at 4 p.m. with scones and pastry. If you drink a lot of water, soda, coffee or tea, you might want to consider the premium non-alcoholic beverage package. We both drink a lot of Evian water and found this the easiest way to stay hydrated without the fuss of having to pay for each beverage. Cafe Bacio: We visited this coffee bar several times a day for iced beverages and snacks. If you like specialty coffees and teas and beautiful pastries, this is a great stop any time of day. Maria made us our coffee in the morning and was very sweet and efficient. The cookies and muffins are tasty and make good bedtime snacks. Entertainment: While we liked the design and layout of the theater, the first comedian, Al Ducharme was only passingly amusing. He doesn’t seem to like women very much and his overuse of sound effects did nothing to improve his performance. His joke about living with four guys named Pedro was borderline racist. However, the “Life” show is a sort of shipboard Cirque du Soleil-style performance with acrobats, music and dancing. The acrobats were especially impressive. The Broadway revue was also very entertaining. We were blown away by the young woman who sang the song from “The Color Purple.” She has an incredible voice. If you like recent Broadway hits, this show was a lot of fun. We attended the shipboard game shows in the Sky Lounge with Dominick. They were fun and we liked his snarky humor. His general trivia at 4 p.m. was really difficult, but amusing. FYI, Bolivia is the country with the most salt flats. We also played music trivia which was fun. Pool: The main pool has music and games every day. We prefer a quiet environment and used the heated, saltwater solarium pool, which is for those 16 and over. It is enclosed and air-conditioned. On sea days, it can be difficult to get a lounge. The Spa Cafe has healthy continental breakfast items, including whole wheat bagels topped with almond butter, banana and orchid. At lunch time, there are salads and wraps. Smoothies are available all day. Spa: Adjacent to the solarium pool is the Canyon Ranch spa. We each had two spa treatments. I had a deep tissue massage with Isabel as well as a reflexology treatment. Both were excellent, but I was particularly impressed with the immediate results of the reflexology treatment. My friend had a seaweed body wrap to reduce cellulite and soften skin, and an anti-aging facial which reduced the lines on her forehead and made her skin feel much tighter. While none of these treatments are inexpensive, they are worth it. Aquaclass guests get free use of the Persian Gardens, which were pleasant, but definitely smaller than other thermal spas we’ve seen. The Persian gardens has only one heated tile lounger. This compares unfavorably to NCL and HAL spa offerings as well as Celebrity’s own Equinox. There is a hamam steam room, a dry sauna, a wet salt room, and a steam room. While these are relaxing, you can’t spend a lot of time in any of them. The waiting area at the spa is limited. Other cruise lines encourage you to change into robes and make use of lounges while you wait for therapists. This is reminiscent of a doctor’s waiting room with an honest-to-God folding chair. However, I was happy that the intake form was brief. Other cruise lines that have Elemis spas practically ask for your medical records. The spa desk is friendly and efficient. Excursions: We sailed on the White Nights catamaran party and would definitely recommend it. The Rising Son is a large and well-appointed catamaran that sails into the Bermuda sunset for two hours. The price includes Prosecco and Rum Swizzle and a narrated tour of the coastline. The captain and deck hands were friendly and knowledgeable. The general vibe was relaxed. Although alcohol was included, the excursion seemed more about appreciating the beauty and history of Bermuda. The sunset was absolutely magnificent and the brief sprinkle of rain produced an unforgettable rainbow. We also appreciated the choice of songs as we sailed. There was a little bit of everything. Everyone is supposed to wear white for this excursion. We guess it’s to make things a little more Instagram worthy, but we never took a group picture. Some people didn’t get the white clothing memo or booked late and didn’t bring any, but that was not a problem. Wear sensible shoes. You are still on a boat. Fellow passengers were mostly middle-aged with some young families. There seemed to be a lot of people from the New York and New Jersey area. We wouldn’t say Celebrity attracts a lot of children, but there are activities for them. Overall impression: we were very happy with the new “revolutionized” Summit and felt the service and amenities were superior. We would definitely cruise on this ship again. Read Less

My new bride and I decided to take this cruise for our honeymoon. Check in and parking at the Bayonne terminal was SUPER easy! 30 minutes from leaving our car to in our room! We paid for a concierge balcony room, room 8108. We were VERY disappointing to see that our balcony was basically cut in half on a diagonal making it very small and very hard to have both of us on the balcony. We were also not very happy to see that celebrity did absolutely nothing to acknowledge that it was our honeymoon. Basically if you are going on your honeymoon, pick Royal Caribbean and not Celebrity. Other than that this cruise was SUPER relaxing! What made it different that Royal is there are not as many activities during sea days which leaves plenty of time for napping and chilling! The food was PHENOMENAL! Everything was cooked to par and met all of my expectations. We had Inocente and Suvingar as our wait staff the first night and had others other nights who were not even friendly, but we ended up requesting them for the remainder of the cruise. For my birthday we went to the Tuscan Grill in which we were treated like royalty! They served us TOO much delicious food that we couldn't even eat the birthday cake they gave us but they did room service it to the room for free! The late night pizza and cookies at the Oceanview cafe were the perfect midnight snacks! The ship itself is very beautiful and very clean! It is a smaller ship and it does get tight on deck 4 since the dining room, casino, and theater are all on the same floor and gets crowded to get from place to place. Elevators are hard to catch as well since they do one job at a time as opposed to stop floor by floor and are also usually packed. They also decide to clean the elevators when it is time for all the passengers to disembark at the ports so imagine thousands of people trying to use only two elevators.... The pools were very small and could only hold 20 people at a time. The solarium pool was closed often as well. Forget about finding a chair, it is NOT going to happen unless you wake up at 6AM to reserve a spot. They put signs out to not do that but people do it anyways. I recommend enjoying the solarium beach chairs and beach "pods" in the evening. It was very quiet, comfortable, and had nice relaxing spa music to relax you after a long day! I wish I had these chairs at home! Dan the cruise director is certainly a character and his sidekick Nacho was a joy to have on the ship! The evening entertainment was AWESOME!!! In the end, Bermuda was stunning and enjoyed our vacation! Read Less

This is the third time that we have sailed on the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda. We did so twice before the refurbishment of the ship. To begin, the refurbishment was overall well done. The same colour tones permeate most of the ship, mostly muted tones (grey's, whites, etc.) We enjoyed the new look very much, however, we spoke to a few people who did not appreciate the modernity of it as much. Now getting back to the actual cruise. It was an all around great trip. We drove from our home to Bayonne, New Jersey (about a 6 hour drive) and stayed overnight in Paramus, New Jersey at the Courtyard by Marriott right beside the Garden State Parkway, it was very convenient and about a 45 minute drive to the port the next morning. We left our luggage off at the port before we parked at Bayonne Cruise Parking. The cost was 120$ versus the 154$ to park in the garage at the port and they shuttled us back to the port for embarkation. Embarkation was a breeze, they've decided to forgo giving you your keys at check-in, instead you keep your x-press pass (check-in paperwork) and get on the ship using that. Once you've embarked, you can go straight to your cabin to retrieve your key cards and deposit your carry-on bags, before heading to lunch, which is a nice touch. (They do remind you multiple times that your cabin is not ready and that they will make an announcement when you can go in and take residence). The only complaint we had was the library or rather the lack thereof. It now consists of a cart on the third floor midship, with about 30 books on it and there are a few on the shelves in the Rendez-Vous lounge. The service was excellent around the ship. We made reservations every evening for dinner which is a must, if not you will end up waiting unless you want to eat very early or very late, at which time there is little to no wait. We had select (anytime) dinning, but usually try to find one waiter we like, they accommodated us every single evening, even when the waiter's section was full! We would be seated at a table near his section and he would serve us. One night he had at least five extra tables! The food was very good, it came to the table hot and was what we expected. Every single staff member we saw in the hallway or around the ship greeted us with a "hello" and a smile. We often saw the assistant maître d's going around the dining room checking on the quality of the food and service and even helping with service from time to time. You can tell just by how the dining staff interact with each other that it is very much a team effort. The entertainment on the ship was very good. As we've cruised many times before, we attended one of the onboard cast shows, but decided not to go to anymore because it was pretty much the same as all the other ships. The first night, they had a comedian who was very funny, he did perform an adult show later on in the cruise, but it was very similar to the first show. They also had a singer, Jesse Hamilton Jr. who was excellent! We enjoyed his show very much. They had a magician, Ryan Joyce who was hilarious and did some amazing tricks, he returned for a second show as well, this time hypnosis. It was a matinee show and was crowded, so you should get there early. We enjoyed trivia almost daily, they were very hard! But we didn't really do any of the other activities. The captain's club cocktail party was well worth it if you are a returning guest/ past-passenger. As it was our fourth time in Bermuda, we decided to keep it low-key. We went to Tobacco Bay the first day and Elbow beach the second. If you go to Elbow Beach, be aware that the private side costs 100$ for two beach chairs, an umbrella and access to their facilities (marble bathroom with showers). The third day, we stayed onboard knowing we would not be able to get near the pools the next day and so we took advantage of that. However, the crystal caves, Hamilton, Saint-George, etc. are all fun things to do and must-sees in Bermuda if you've never been. The bus system and Ferries are easy to use and efficient. They have a mini-bus system now right on the dock, that charges 7$ a person to go to Horseshoe Bay, we were able to get a mini-bus of 10 people to go to Elbow Beach at 10$ a person one way and a taxi for 6 people at 7$ a person to go back, it was a bit more expensive than the bus, but it saved time. We decided to do the walk-off from the ship which started promptly at 8am as advertised, from that time to our shuttle bus (which was waiting for us), it took us 10 minutes (including immigration/customs). Overall, one of the easiest disembarkations we have done in over 20 cruises! Read Less

We chose to sail on Summit for the fifth time, because we love the ship and we also love that it's not HUGE, and it sails from Cape Liberty and that is a port we can drive to, rather than fly. We have had four wonderful cruises on her in the past six years. Sometimes the drive from Philly to Bayonne has been a bit crazy due to road construction but this year it was as smooth as could be. We were early enough to secure a parking place in the parking garage, which was what I was hoping since we were leaving our fairly new car there for a week. However every time we have parked in cruise parking at Bayonne it has always been fine, whether in the garage or not. The only glitch with embarkation was that we were told by the stevedore when we dropped off our luggage, that we could not bring a case of bottled water onboard, even though we had a ship luggage tag on it. We have always done this in the past with no problem. He insisted it was a new rule, but that we could "carry on" the case of water. Well we weren't going to park and walk all the way to the terminal and then onboard carrying a case of water. I have a kidney condition which requires that I drink at least 64 oz of water/day, and while we did have the premium drink package, it's just been easier to have the bottled water in bulk available in our cabin. :( My husband put a few bottles in his carry on bag. Because we were booked in a suite we had almost no wait to check in, and before you knew it we were onboard, and given a glass of champagne. We were informed we could drop off our carry on bags at our suite and pick up our cabin keys there. We did this and headed to Luminae for lunch. The service in Luminae was excellent, as it has been on the prior two cruises. We were happy to see our waiter from last year there still too! The food was good but I was disappointed they didn't have the fried chicken and waffles we had the first day onboard last year. At dinner the first night we had excellent service as we did the entire cruise this time as well. The sommelier was very attentive and we never had to wait for anything. The food portions are sometimes a bit small, but for me they seemed very healthy and certainly filling. Desserts were extremely tasty (cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, and chocolate mousse cake are ones that we shared). Our cabin, a Sky Suite, was roomy and well laid out. We stayed in the same cabin the prior two years and it was exciting to see the changes from the "revolution!" We found the decor to be brighter and lovely. The bed was a big improvement and it was extremely luxurious and comfortable, as were the pillows. What was lacking was the amount of shelving, both in the bathroom and next to the desk. Several shelves have been removed for purposes of decor I guess. The wall next to the desk had two magazine racks; not very useful. Where the shelves used to be in the bathroom beside the commode, there was just a big empty rectangular space. Pretty, but not efficient with regard to space. The bathroom was MUCH brighter. However the shower seemed even harder to get into than before. The step up into the tub is as high as ever (we always bring a portable step stool to help getting in and out of the shower/tub), but there is a glass immoveable partition next to the commode which makes it impossible to turn the shower on without getting doused in the process. The shower curtain clung to the bather because it was in between two immoveable glass partitions. I venture to think some passengers might have trouble squeezing between these two immoveable glass partitions to get into the tub/shower. Also the fixtures in the tub/shower were difficult to adjust, and at one point one of the temperature control handles came off in my hand when I was attempting to adjust the temperature in the shower. We chose this stateroom mostly because of its oversized balcony. I had spent months looking forward to sitting in a lounge chair reading a book on this wonderful balcony. Unfortunately and to our surprise, the previous comfortable lounge furniture has been replaced with two stiff wood and metal upright chairs, a table (which was fine) and a love seat, with a cushion that seemed to absorb water. There were two concrete foot stools that were virtually impossible to move due to their weight. The second or third day we appealed to our butler and he got a lounge chair for me to use on our balcony. He told us he was going to leave it there for future guests, as it seemed like a good idea! Whomever redecorated the balconies apparently thought stiff wooden chairs would be great for lounging on a lovely balcony, rather than lounging as most passengers would enjoy on vacation. Hubby arranged for a surprise for me on our anniversary, and flowers were waiting after dinner, as well as rose petals on the bed and two towel swans facing each other, making a heart. VERY romantic! He had assistance on this from Rhiannon, one of the concierges in the Retreat (she was so helpful every day!). We ate in one Specialty Restaurant, the Tuscan Grille. It was super easy booking a reservation for that meal the night before on the Celebrity App. I loved that this was so easy and we could see what times were available. Saved so much time and effort, rather than calling, etc. The service in the Tuscan Grille was excellent. The food was delicious and the portions were large. The chicken (parmesan) was a very tough piece of chicken, but the sauce and eggplant parmesan were delicious. Not sure the meal was worth $90, but it was a nice diversion from Luminae where hubby got tired of the menu there. We didn't attend many shows. We saw some of the comedian and he was very talented (magician and hypnotist) and very entertaining. Did not attend any of the regular shows with the ship entertainment singers/dancers. The port shopping talk was very informative and lots of great prizes were given out there (there was a raffle). Also VIP shopping coupons could be picked up later for shopping in the port of Bermuda. We shopped at Kings Wharf and picked up some souvenirs. The Clocktower mall has a little bit of everything and is always fun, and not too large. I always get a piece of jewelry at the Crisson store there, and I bought some Bermudian perfume as well. Two days in port we ate lunch at the Frog and Onion restaurant, which is newly air-conditioned. The food and service was superb. On the third day in Bermuda we took the shore excursion to Horseshoe Bay. The service to and from was very efficient (air conditioned bus). Even though we have been to Horseshoe Bay several times, it never disappoints. I was glad we chose to go to HB on the last day in port because it was less crowded than usual, even though the Norwegian Escape was in port when we were. Such a beautiful beach. Clean; the water is stunning; the sand is cool and pink. There are changing rooms, restrooms, a burger restaurant and bar. You cannot go wrong at this beach for amenities. We rented two loungers and an umbrella and it was lovely. On the last day at sea we were invited to a special luncheon with the Captain and a few of his senior officers. Only a handful of couples were invited, and I'm not sure how we rated the invitation, lol. It was just amazing, intimate, and this captain and his crew are truly amazing dedicated people. Debarkation was seamless. Hubby got brought some breakfast to me from the Oceanview Cafe, and then we headed to the Retreat to wait to be called to disembark. Oh I forgot to mention, the Retreat has also been revolutionized, and it's lovely and has great service. Hubby missed the leather chairs and paneling, but I thought it looked peaceful and airy. Our only problems on this trip were getting the items we had pre-ordered (and paid for ahead of time) to be in our cabin when we set sail. NONE of the items we ordered (wine, rum, flowers) were delivered on sailing day, and when we inquired, nobody seemed to know anything about them. We had to complain numerous times but finally got the rum and the wine on the second and third days. After debarkation, we collected our car and luggage and were on our way home by mid-morning. A great trip. :) Another wonderful cruise for the memory books. Read Less

We chose this cruise to take our two grandsons on their first cruise. This was our fifth Celebrity cruise, but the first in three years. After we boarded (in a reasonable amount of time) we went to our stateroom (a family veranda) and were quite pleased especially the size of the veranda. Unfortunately the room was not totally clean. Couple this with our not getting one of our suitcases until after we left port made for a stressful first day. There were plenty of activities and more than enough to keep an eight and twelve year old busy. Unfortunately unless you got on deck by 8:00AM you got no deck chair. Also twice we could find no seat to watch a show. IMO the ship cannot handle in a comfortable manner the number of passengers they had on board. The food and service in the main dining were both good and our waiter really took care of our grandsons. We also felt that breakfast in the mdr was very good. We ate some breakfasts and all lunches at the buffet and other than finding a seat sometimes thought both the quality and variety were very good. The dock in Bermuda was near both shopping and transportation and Celebrity did a great job with getting on and off while in port. Overall an above average cruise but nowhere near as good as what Celebrity use to be. Read Less

Nice ship , clean,and staff attentive to our needs. The refit was nice, rooms are brighter,and the shower glass door a welcome addition. This is our 11th time to Bermuda,, the ease of sailing from Bayonne for us Jerseyites is incredibly easy, especially with the lovely new parking facilities at the port. Check in was quick and easy, the ship was ready and our bags arrived quickly. The staff we encountered were all excellent. We did have a problem with our first waiter, but the maitr' d was unilaterally aware of the problems and spoke with us at breakfast in the oceanview the next morning and satisfactorily altered our dining situation. Kudos to Dragos. He was wonderful. We found the food to be very good, a lot of fish choices in the oceanview most days for lunch, the new stations with; lobster rolls, stir fry, vegan, indian, daily chef specials, grilled steak, pork chops, chicken breast, fish, and salads. We are watching our carbs etc, and found many healthy choices. There seem to be much more room for seating since the refit. The hamburger and hot dog grill by the pool was also good(great mushroom and onions) The pool area was nice, still the every present chair hogs present, but as we age, I am up at 6am so no problems. We stayed on the ship the first Bermuda day, and had the pool to ourselves!!. Nice, quiet. The weather was a little hazy and drizzly the first couple of days, but improved. Always had a decent breeze. Went to the beach one day, very enjoyable. You can't miss horseshoe bay, and there are many other nice alternative beaches in Bermuda. The entertainment on the ship was very good. We especially enjoyed the English singer and her guitar accompanist. and the bar staff in the wine cellar. Overall an excellent escape from life at home. Read Less

This cruise was to celebrate my friend's anniversary which was on a Royal Caribbean cruise 5 years before. On that cruise we had around 60 people. As well as celebrating an anniversary, 3 of us were celebrating our 65th birthdays on this cruise. My birthday actually fell on the day we were in port in Bermuda. This cruise was a debacle almost from the minute we arrived at the port. Some things were minor and if they were the only problem, we would have just let it go. We understand that things happen and don't nitpic over every little thing. But this cruise was one problem after another and even the resolution offered by the cruiseline turned out to be yet another fail. So I am going to include most of the problems we had, large and small, so that you can understand the frustration we all felt. This cruise left from New Jersey. We arrived around 11 am and got in line. We range in status from gold to diamond. It was pretty disorganized and some Gold passengers ended up in the Windjammer 20 minutes before we even got on the ship. Minor issue, no problem. After lunch we went to the pool and there were no towels. So we went to ride the bumper cars. They were having a problem because 2 of the cars that people were already in were not functioning and they had to get out and get back in line. Unfortunately, some of their families were already in cars that worked. We went back to the pool and had a few drinks , went to the room and unpacked. I have to say, I loved the room. We met some of our group for dinner. The restaurant was a bit of chaos because there are 2 restaurants but your card does not say which one to go to so people where standing in line at the wrong side which caused a backup in the area.At dinner everyone got a menu except my husband and I. We had to call him back over. When my meal came out, they gave it to someone else before it finally made it's way to me. This is just nothing I have ever experienced before. I guess I had been spoiled, but that is kind of what you expect when you pay the price we paid for this cruise. After dinner we went to look for the karaoke. Unfortunately, it is only open for an hour and it was already full, We went to the room, filled out the card to have coffee delivered in the morning and went to bed. Coffee was never delivered, I have never had this happen before. So we got up and went to breakfast at the restaurant. After breakfast we went for a walk around the ship to look around. We went to the pool for some of the contests. We went back to the room to get ready for dinner, which we were thought was lobster night. When we got there we found out lobster night was going to be on the second formal night ( which we were surprised they would have lobster night on a shore day?) We had already booked a dinner at the specialty restaurant which meant we would miss lobster night. Had we known earlier we could have switched the reservation around instead of missing one of our favorite things. Again, the service at the dining room was a bit of a shambles. Next day a large group of us were going to Horseshoe Bay Beach. A few of us were meeting by the pool to watch our friends get on the North Star. My friend had paid for her grandchildren to go on this cruise and planned to spend the day with them at the beach. We were all supposed to meet there but the grandchildren and their parents never showed up. When we got back to the ship we found out that their safe wouldn't open and they had to have their passports.They were stuck sitting in the room for well over an hour before anyone showed up. By the time the safe was opened it was too late for them to try to get to the beach. That night, 10 of us had a tour that we booked through Royal Caribbean for a pub crawl. This was the worst tour I have ever been on. The driver was terrible, didn't even talk to us. When he got us to the first stop, he said we could get off if we wanted!!!! I will be posting a whole separate review on the tour. It would take way too long to share that here.The next morning we had a tour that was booked with a private company and it was wonderful! When we returned, the group coordinator from my group and I went to guest services and told them about many of the problems. There were more than what I have even posted here. They promised to resolve the problems and they said they were going to do something very special for our group like something at lunch etc. We had to end it there because it was time for our reservation at Wonderland. Wonderland was WONDERFUL! Food and service was excellent and I hoped this would turn things around. After dinner my husband and I went to the Bionic Bar. We had stopped here earlier in the week but nothing was working. Well nothing had changed. In 20 minutes we saw at least 10 drinks that were only half full or made incorrectly. The next morning at breakfast we did get some fruit for our table and fresh squeezed orange juice( which most of us got already) . We did not know that was the "special" thing they were doing for our group.We did receive a half credit for our tour but as bad as it was and since we did not get the discounts we were promised and we were not taken to the bars as promised I expressed to Louis that I did not feel that was enough. I took it up with Post Guest Services after returning home and for the last month I have been trying to get a resolution. Today they told me that Royal Caribbean does not take any responsibility for tours you book through them. (P.S. I forgot to include that another person in our party also had a problem with their safe, and one of the shows had to be stopped in the middle of the show for technical difficulties) I understand that things happen, but it seemed very little was working properly on this ship, The public areas were small and this ship holds a lot of people so everywhere was crowded. We are not unreasonable people. Things happen but it is the way the company deals with the issue that matters. This company chose to not care whether we were happy or not. We travel with a group, usually anywhere from 12 to 60 people but I guess that no longer matters. I have always loved RC but if this is where they are going I do not know how I feel about sailing with them again. With as much money as we brought to this cruise and with as many problems as we encountered I would not think refunding at least a little more of our tour price would be that big of a deal . We had I think 48 people on this cruise with many of them purchasing drink packages so if you do the math you will see it would not have hurt them to resolve this issue. My review for the tour will be about their Pub Crawl In Bermuda. Read Less

Chose this cruise as it was driving distance for us and it was a first with Celebrity to try and also to see a new refurbished ship. The parking at the pier was a bit expensive but nice and convenient. It was 22.00 per day you have to take into consideration northern N.J. Prices are high in the area. Signs to the terminal seemed to be good and then disappeared had to ask directions found out others had a problem Any drivers new to the area put Costco in your GPA that is where you turn in for Cape Liberty cruise terminal The Summit was really pretty with all the new decorations and cabins were nice. Some missed the love seat and coffee table,but we liked it. Was not happy with operation of the tv. They also had no music on the screen while the channel was just showing the ship in dock or cruising along. The food was only fair. Some items salty, cold soups very watery no flavor. The buffet had a very big selection of foods, did not eat in the restaurants that had an additional charge. Photography people were always wanting to take a picture,thought a little to much. Shows were a big variety and different each nite a few signers they had 3 nites in a row. Nicer if they could have been on board at a better variety of times. Did not use spa,pool,or indoor pool. The crew was so so nice ,room attendant nice and room was lovely. Dining room waiters so good one top one Orlando very professional explained food good and not so good. We had anytime dining some times we had to wait but not more then 30 minutes with the beeper If the cruise was going to locations I wanted to see I would choose this ship again. Other then being all new in March it was not much different then any other line and we have 50 plus cruises under our belt Read Less

The Celebrity Summit has just come out of dry dock and has had a terrific makeover. Folk say that she is now similar in some ways to the Edge, on which we have not yet sailed. The ship is handsome, the decor very soothing with a calm, serene, sophisticated aura. The cabins, in particular, are nicely done in beige tones. Lots of storage space. Sadly, no coffee table so room service is a challenge! The bathrooms are sleek but tight and their compactness could be an issue for some passengers. We weren't overly happy with the new configuration of the Oceanview Cafe. There seems to be more seating so finding a seat is not usually a problem but it always felt a little chaotic as passengers tried to navigate the various stations. There are a number of attractive bars, none of them ever overcrowded. Unfortunately, there seems to be no game or card room and, sad to note, no library to speak of (there is a miserable book nook in one of the lounges with about thirty books in a number of languages that is really unsatisfactory); this seems to totally ignore the likes and wishes of many of the passengers. Folk are now spread out on the ship playing board games and cards, occupying necessary space, for example, in the Oceanview Cafe. There is one small lounge next to Sushi on Five which was never, ever occupied which would have made a nice place for a library or cards. This entertainment aspect was not well thought out but seems to be a trend, assuming everyone is now content to be on their electronic devices. The on board entertainment on Celebrity continues to disappoint, never rising above the mediocre. However, on this sailing, praise to Anne Steele and Ric Steel (not related; they performed on separate evenings) two exceptional entertainers - above par! Our major disappointment was the cuisine in the Cosmopolitan Restaurant. Dining is usually a big plus on Celebrity but not on this occasion. Curiously, the food was just acceptable on the first five or six nights, never better than okay. Suddenly on, perhaps, day six the food improved significantly and was up to the expected Celebrity standards. It seemed quite peculiar and we couldn't find any logical reason for that; it was unfortunate that the first nights were really underwhelming. As always, the dining room staff was delightful. We must single out Branco, our Sommelier - he's just great! And the matre'd, Vitaly, does a commendable job. Our cabin attendant was excellent and we never wanted for anything. Embarking and disembarking at Cape Liberty was smooth and super easy. Read Less

I chose this cruise as it included Boston and Bermuda which I have always wanted to visit. It was also for my husbands 60th birthday. We have not cruised with Celebity before, but have been with NCL, RCI, Carnival and P@O. Check in was smooth. We had an ocean view cabin 7009 which was the biggest most well appointed cabin we have ever had. It had a huge window, 2 american sockets and 2 european sockets plus phone chargers above them and phone chargers next to the bed. There was plenty of storage, and big bottles of toiletries in the spacious bathroom. We were also provided with an unberella and a beach bag, plus beach towels. There was a large flat screen tele on the wall in front of the bed. Drinks, gratuities and WIFI was included in our price. We had the classic drinks package but paid an extra £100 to upgrade my husbands to the premium package as that included champagne and more choice of cocktails. It was well worth it. The internet was fast. The food in the main dining room was good but there was not much choice. A lot of things were served every night with only a few extra dishes. The portions were adequate and the sirloin steak very good. The buffet for breakfast and lunch was very good with plenty of choice but not as good in the evening. There were always plenty of free tables and no long queues at the stations. The choice of wine was not very good. A choice of 3 reds and 3 whites. If you wanted a snack in the day and didnt want to go to the buffet there was only the outside pool grill which just served hot dogs or beef burgers. There was always plenty of sunbeds and the towels were already placed on them for you which was a nice touch. The pools were lovely and very deep. The staff were all very friendly and polite. Two things that went wrong with our cruise were that I had pre ordered a birthday cake for my husband to be delivered to our room, it was not done and I had to go to guest services twice before he got it. It was then delivered late afternoon and as we had just got back in from an all day trip and were going back out in an hour we just had a tiny slice between us and were going to eat it the following day. However when we got back after our trip the next day, the cake had beem removed so we never got to eat it. Also my luggage did not get taken to our room. I eventually tracked it down at 6 pm behind the guest service desk with no explanation as to what it was doing there. The ports were ok , we could have done with more ports and less days on the boat. We took excursions from the taxis outside the boat in Bermuda, they were half the price of Celebrity excursions. We did the Freedom Trail in Boston, the guide was a bit boring. The trainee guide gave us better information. In Bar Harbour we did the mini bus and Cadillac Mountain tour, that was quite good but the guide kept forgetting things and repeating herself. Portland we walked aroung ourselves we did the trolley tour for an hour, that cost 21 dollars each. Our fellow guests were all retired and the whole entertainment seemed geared to older people. There was non of the fun of Carnival. RCI or NCL. For that reason we will not be sailing with Celebrity until we are a lot older and we are only 59. The gym was very good, I did the stretching and stomach class every morning at 7 am and that was good. We had a massage from Jane who is Thai and that wasexcellent. However we paid a "special price" for it on embarkation day 209 dollars each for 80 minutes, but on the final day the special price for it was 89 dollars! That was annoying. Read Less

We just returned from an 11 day cruise on Celebrity. We had a fabulous time the itinerary was great 3 days in Bermuda one in each Boston, Bar Harbour Main, and Portland Maine. We loved the ship overall the food was great and service wonderful . In the oceanview buffet there was always plenty of tasty choices, In the dining room the food and service were excellent. The entertainment every night was very good we especially loved Shaun O'shea a singer who was very entertaining. Every night we had an opportunity to dance with especially one great band the Nauticals. The Sky lounge was beautiful and we went there for a silent disco and and an Abba sing along and dancing. The solarium was small and we had to be there early to get a lounge chair but overall again we had a fabulous time. Dan the cruise director was everywhere. The captain was very funny and we were impressed that he was greeting everyone as we walked off the ship on the last day. Read Less

My mom and I cruised Anthem to Bermuda in June. We cruised RCCL to Bermuda about 7 years ago and wanted to go back on a newer ship. Being that we live in NJ, the convenience of leaving out of Bayonne was great. Checking in was easy - we got to the port at 10:30 and boarded soon after. Cabins are not available until 1PM, so we wandered around the ship and then headed to the Windjammer for lunch. It was utter chaos there. We ate quickly and waited until we could get into the cabin. Our seapasses were waiting for us. We had a junior suite - it was great! Very spacious and laid out well. A nice sized balcony too. There were upgraded toiletries in the bathroom. I think the cabin was the best part of the trip because when the ship felt crazy crowded, we had a quiet balcony to retreat to. BTW - I was offered an opportunity to upgrade with a bid on 3 other types of cabins. None of my bids were accepted. I was a little bummed, but again, was happy with the cabin we had. In general, the pros: * The ship was clean * Service for the most part was good * Lots of fun activities all day * Several no extra fee dining options * Bermuda is gorgeous * The cruise port is very easy to navigate with parking located close by * We rented an electric car from Oleander to cruise around the island - great customer service and lots of fun Cons: * The disembarkation process was a pure disaster - no clear directions, and was running behind schedule. Passengers were cutting in front of others, just so much confusion to end the trip on. * The Bermuda Triangle Nature Preserve excursion - do NOT waste your money! The excursion is nothing like the description. For what it cost, you could go to Horseshoe or one of the other nearby beaches, and get lunch and beach chairs for less with a prettier view. * A big ship has a lot of people and you can tell there are a lot of people. * Technical difficulties kept us from being able to see "We Will Rock You" twice. * Same food was served in the Windjammer every day. * The sales they offer are a joke. * Extra fee dining - as if it didn't already cost a lot to go, so why pay extra for food * The thermal suite doesn't come close to what NCL offers * Cabin 13236 is right under The Living Room and was quite noisy overhead We had a good time and will sail RCCL again, just be mindful of the pros and cons. Read Less

This was great! Our whole family went. We had four adjacent ocean balcony rooms. My husband and I in one. My three daughters (early 20s) in the next. My one daughter and son-in-law in the next, and my oldest daughter, son-in-law, and 2 1/2 year old granddaughter in the last. Our cabin attendant, MC, opened the dividers on the balconies, so we could all sit out together. It was great! Also great for using bathrooms when yours was occupied. Great for 9 adults and one child! We drove from PA to Bayonne, NJ. Two short hours and we were there. Parking was easy, and the embarkation process was quick. We were on the ship in less than 20 minutes! My husband and I were on a cruise last year so we told our kids to wear their bathing suits and enjoy the pool while there would be less people and lots of space to move around. They loved the deck area. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a spray park (?) play area for kids that weren't fully potty trained yet. My granddaughter only had the tiny pool area to play in, which was such a small space. She kept asking to go in the big pool with the other kids. I thought I had read there was a spray area for kids when I was researching this ship. I guess I was wrong. On a positive note, the children's babysitting area called Royal Tots was wonderful. We only used it 3 times for a few hours each time. We were all able to see the shows together while our granddaughter went there. We registered the first day, and were told spots fill up quickly. They will only take 8 children under three in this area at a time, so register early. She had fun, and the staff was very attentive. My daughters (5) and son-in-laws (2) went on NorthStar on Day 2 and took great pictures of the ship from above. They said it was awesome! One night we saw Matt Ye, a performer at Schooner's Bar. He did an interactive "adults only" show with everyone . We had a great time! He was very funny. We had dinner in Chops one night which we enjoyed. My daughter and son-in-law ordered the seafood tower and it was devoured very quickly. The food was very good, and the service was great! The other nights we ate in MDR. We really enjoyed the food, and many of us ordered 2 appetizers most evenings. Our server, Agnelo, was very attentive. The woman that did our drinks was great as well. She remembered what we liked and had it ready as soon as we arrived. "We Will Rock You" was great! It was a mixed aged audience. The middle-aged crowd (like myself) were singing right along with the Queen songs. My younger daughters liked it too, especially since seeing the "Bohemian Rhapsody" movie. The singing was amazing! The band, especially the guitarist, was great! The only issue I had was the timing of the show. It was at 6:30 which made dinner a problem. The dining rooms open at 5:15, and Windjammer opens at 5:30. Usually we like to get to the show 30 minutes before to get seats together and order drinks. My daughter was also dropping my granddaughter off at Royal Tots at 5:50- so pizza night it was. If the show was at 7, I don't think dinner would have been an issue. This was a 5 day cruise with an overnight in Bermuda--days 2 and 3. I would recommend an overnight, then you don't feel rushed to get back to the ship on the first day. We decided not to book an excursion through RC, we just went off the ship to the pier. Right at the pier, there are many, many taxis, and mini-buses to take you places. We took one for $7 a person to Horseshoe Bay. So it was $7 there, and $7 back= $14 per person. RC's excursion to the same place was over $35 pp. Loved Horseshoe Bay! The water was beautiful, but there was a lot of seaweed. This didn't really matter after awhile--we just enjoyed being in the beautiful blue waters. Again, going on our own allowed us to stay as long as we wanted. When we decided to leave, we walked to the parking lot, and there were the minivans/buses to take us right back to the ship. So easy! The second day in Bermuda, we decided to do some shopping, right next to the docks. We just wanted some souvenirs, and to look around. It was a beautiful day--the weather was great! As a family, we always had dinner together, but then at night we did whatever we wanted. I went to the comedy show, which was really funny. I forget the comedian's name, but he was very funny. It was a show meant for the family, and he appealed to many ages. My 20 year old daughter, was lost on some of the jokes, because he referenced things she didn't know about, but I was laughing so hard that my jaw started to hurt. My daughters and son-in-laws loved the pub and the guitar player there. There were either there or in Schooners most nights. They loved IFly, the sky diving simulator. They raved about it, and I got some hilarious pictures. Make sure to book this as soon as you can. I didn't see it up on cruise planner, but after browsing Cruise Critic, I learned that you should book it as soon as you get on the ship on Day 1 through Royal IQ app or go to guest services. It booked up really fast. You can always go to standby if you can't book it, to see if there are some no shows. I am sure there must be. One of my daughters was a no show to to some rocky seas on Day 5 which made her queasy. Overall, we really enjoyed our cruise, and would certainly sail again. Read Less

We are loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers and we were happy to reach Platinum Level. we have sailed with Princess and Disney also in the past but a majority with Royal. We have cruised on the Oasis and Freedom class ships but first time on the Quantum class. We are very easy going cruisers and know things happen, but due to our experience with this ship we are questioning our loyalty and may decide on cruising with another cruise line. Here is my comprehensive review: Embarkation: We arrived at approximately 11am, traffic into the pier was horrendous as Cape Liberty is going through some major construction. Traffic entrance into pier was down to one lane. Entered cruise terminal which was easy and not that crowded. Entered the designated line for check-in. lines separated for general guests, Gold, Platinum-Emerald, Diamond and above. This is where the confusion started as terminal staff just funneled passengers into any line regardless of status, then let Diamond members ahead of all the other passengers waiting for designated check-in desks. Also you do not receive your SeaPass card until you get into your stateroom, so we could not do the Flowrider until we had the Seapass card and we could not get Starbucks coffee. Cabin: Balcony Room 6680 rear starboard side. Immediately upon entering the room it smelled of smoke. Thought great, prior cruisers were smokers. Unfortunately when we walked out to balcony we were greeted with a strong smoke smell and discovered the smoking atrium was just below the cabins on deck 5. Also people sitting in atrium can look up and see into cabin. Our daughter experienced a passenger looking up at her as she changed in the cabin. Kept shades closed for a majority of the cruise. Ship: The ship is beautiful full of technology, however technology broke down several time. The Royal Promenade is not as open as the Freedom and Oasis Class and not as easy to get around. It is poorly designed as most of the balconies do not have a view straight down to the water and there is a smoking area designated below some balcony cabins. Food: We did enjoy the food in the MDR but it did start to repeat itself on the 4th day. Wonderland had an eclectic selection of food but is priced at around $60 per person, I guess your paying for presentation. Windjammer always busy and food leaned heavily on Indian Curry spices, except for breakfast. Solarium Cafe was the place to go instead of windjammer but limited selections. Sorrento's Pizza was great and so was Cafe two 70 for the roast beef sandwiches. Staff: Wait staff and room steward were top notch, they worked hard to get things right. Guest Services staff mostly pleasant but couldn't make decisions. Bermuda: Very nice Island beautiful beaches. Hamilton's businesses were closed due to holiday and parade. Shipyard area was nice. Horseshoe Bay beautiful beach, but was busy. Also Bermuda is expensive. Entertainment: The Gift started out slow but finished great. Cabaret was no that great lots of use of light and technology. The music was not that great as the performers butchered the familiar songs. We Will Rock You CANCELLED due to hydraulic issues. It was replaced with the performers singing (not bad). Activities: Bumper cars were nice. IFly was the highlight of the activities a must do. Northstar looked nice but did not fit into our schedule. Flowrider also nice but too busy since there is only one. Sport activities staff were great. Disembarkation: Not too bad, we did not have to fill out Customs Declaration Forms. First time not having to do this. Wait time for car service back to hotel was over an hour due to the traffic issues at the port. We are still trying to resolve issues with cabin and our TA has gotten involved. Going on 2 weeks with no response from RCCL. I will update with resolution. Read Less

While we were touring the South Pacific in January on the Aranui 5, cargo/passenger ship, I spotted a cruise with Celebrity called, “Sail Away and Beyond.” We had sailed with Celebrity many years ago in the Western Caribbean and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience so we were tempted to book the cruise. The cruise started in Newark, New Jersey, sailed up the coast to Rhode Island, Portland, Bar Harbour, Boston and Bermuda for 11 days. This special promotion allowed us: Premium Beverage Package, Free Internet, Free Gratuities and $300.00 U.S. for our cabin. Excellent deal, only had to book airfare from Toronto to Newark, New Jersey. Upon arrival at the airport in Newark, we followed the signs to the baggage claim and then the taxi stand. A lady printed out a receipt for the transfer to the Bayonne Cruise Terminal. The cost was approx. $48.00 incl. tolls and tips on top. You paid the cab driver at the end. Fifteen minutes later, we were at the terminal. We arrived on a Wednesday, mid day, so that might have accounted for less traffic. Noticed, we passed a Costco Store on the way to the terminal. If I had known and did not have a beverage package included, it would have been a good opportunity to pick up some premium wine for our cabin since they allowed 2 bottles aboard upon embarkation. The whole trip was wonderful, highlight being Bermuda for us. Staff was outstanding: Wayan our Cabin Stewart, cabin 6082, mid ship, starboard side,(good location), Cosmopolitan Dinner staff of Ernesto, Priya, Josip were excellent, Cafe Bacio waitress, Olesnia was very efficient and friendly, Oceanview Restaurant-Amornlaka, our pastry and coffee lady was a treat to see with her smile in the morning for breakfast. Wine Stewarts at lunch were very accommodating and engaging-Rikka, Jenny, Josip, and Tetiania. Celebrity offered a variety of tours of which we only took two, one in Boston and one in Bermuda. There was a variety of entertainment and it was very good. We went to the 7 o’clock performance, then had our dinner seating at 8:15 pm. Menu also had a variety of selections. Evening meals in the dining room were varied and tasty but often luke warm by the time it arrived at the table. If I was to do this over again with Celebrity, I would chose seating on the fourth floor which was anytime dining with various guests because the kitchen is closer. Food had to be transferred from level 3 to level 5 in our case and I can understand why it arrived mildly warm. Dress was not overly dressy at dinner except for the “Chic” nights. If you are interested, I will write about the places we visited on excursions on Trip Advisor since I like their format better. Read Less