Sunday at sea. Well, almost at sea. I got to spend it aboard Celebrity Summit tour her decks, cabins, and sampling her food and beverages. I know it’s a rough life, but someone has to do it and it might as well be me. Actually it can be quite grueling and I know my feet, legs, and a** are feeling the 3 hours of walking the ship. But this is truly a great opportunity for me to get a feel of what Celebrity has to offer you, my clients, as a line as well as how does it compare to the other lines.
Sticking to the Summit she is part of the millennium class that was updated not too long ago with all the solstice class perks. Despite her latest dry dock being only in the last few years, this beauty is about to go back in dry dock Feb 2019 to be “edge-ified” before returning back to Cape Liberty in 2019 for her seasonal Bermuda itineraries and Canada/New England. When she is not up here in the north she does loops out of San Juan. They only plan on having her docked for about a month, but she will be freshly made up with changes to rooms and the Edge Class additions. One of the cabin changes will include new larger showers with the rounded sliding doors. Her cabins are include inside, ocean, balcony, concierge, Aqua class, and Suite class. You will find as you climb the cabin levels you will find increased amenities and nicer quality amenities with difference even in the bathrobes and towels, but all rooms do include bathrobes for the guests. Fun amenities I saw in the Aqua class cabins were gift bags, raspberry tea, complimentary water bottles, binoculars, large umbrella, magnifying mirror (ladies this is awesome) and they get exclusive to Blue Restaurant on the ships that have it.
When boarding the Summit, you will be greeted with a glass of champagne. This is a Celebrity standard. Prepare to check out one of the main lounge or dining venues when you first get onboard as rooms are typically not ready until 1pm. It’s a great opportunity to get into relax mode with a drink and lunch meal. I have to say the food was of great quality as we enjoyed a hosted lunch in the main dining. My lunch consisted of white wine, Caesar salad, salmon filet atop a bed of mash potatoes and spinach and concluded with apple pie. Yes, you may just put a few pounds on unless you plan on visiting deck 10 for the fitness center. Here you will also find the spa, hot tubs in the solarium and the Spa Café.
As long as we are talking food, the Summit has two specialty restaurants that you can make reservations for before you arrive or once on board. You have the Tuscan Grill and Qzine. Tuscan is Italian flavors and Qzine offers a tapes style selections of wide international cuisine flavors. Dinner plates run about $40-45 per person for a meal. For regular dining you have the Ocean View Café which has the buffet for all 3 meals and the main dining restaurant on decks 3 and 4 for you timed seating. Guests staying in Suite class have Luminae as their main dining option. The suite guests also get to enjoy Michael’s Club exclusively which is great spot when waiting for your room to ready.
Let’s talk about family travel on the Summit. While Celebrity is not known drawing a huge kid crowd (last week’s sailing only had 12 kids on it) during summer months when school’s out you will find a good number. You have the options of family suite that sleeps 5 and also the one-bedroom suites have adjoining rooms if you have the older kids you want to be separate from, yet still within reach. The Summit has areas designed for all ages aboard and these can be found on Deck 11. There is the Fun Factory for you 3-12 and the X-Club for your tweens and teens. The kids’ club is Autism friendly as well!
Lots of fun spots for adults to disappear to. A bar you would definitely find me at is the Martini Bar and right next to it Crush. Ice bar with lots of vodka choices. The Sunset Bar makes a great spot to be as the ship pulls from port and a travel agent favorite. Then I definitely recommend sneaking away to the Rooftop Terrace for a bit of relaxation. I suggest taking part in the Taste of Film they offer for a price of $20. This is where they match food and drink to a movie of choice, say something like Under the Tuscan Sun for example where they pick tastes from the movie. Thinking of Italy and wine, make a stop at Cellar Masters with world wine tours with your sommelier.
Another entertainment venue to catch while on board is the theatre productions. Celebrity actually owns their own production company. This gives them the ability to create and produce their own shows. With this advantage their shows can be changed out, different on ships based on itineraries, and have a longer run life to keep things fresh. Currently 3 shows are running on the Summit and the theatre also houses the comedians that come on board. Plenty of entertainment to choose from each night and always different.
For you cruisers, for those wanting to see Bermuda, the Summit out of Cape Liberty is a great option. Or consider coming in fall to experience the foliage of New England and Canada. To get more information or pricing, feel free to reach out to any of our planners at 1-844-386-3600 or email info@boomerangescapes.com
Lisa Rossmeissl is the owner of Boomerang Escapes, a home-based agency located in Old Bridge, New Jersey with agents in TN, MS, and WI.
She has been a professional travel consultant since 2008 and specializes in Australia and the South Pacific. Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, and Cook Islands are among the specialist certificates she holds. Her agency’s focus is on creating custom itineraries with their client’s wants, desires, and budgets in mind. She and her planners believe in getting to know the traveler to ensure they have a vacation to remember. With each planner specializing in a different market area, Boomerang Escapes can offer a wide variety of leisure vacation planning.
Leave a Reply