Wow, it seems like forever since I’ve been back (and blogged!) Sorry about that, but I got hit by a big ol’ “wave” when I returned from the cruise. Yes, it’s wave season and with the fierce and long winter we’ve been having here, the business keeps coming in.
I’m very grateful for that, but now I need another vacation!
So, on to the review of our Southern Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Summit. I have done a few ship inspections on the Celebrity line before, but this was my first full sailing onboard a Celebrity ship. The Summit was in very good condition for it’s age (about 7 yrs. old) Yes, there was a little wear and tear in some of the public areas and the cabin bathrooms, but nothing major.
Definitely nothing to ruin a cruise! I have to start by saying that we had the best cabin steward in all of our cruises. “Nick” was on the ball! He was attentive, prompt and always had a smile on his face. We would call for ice or extra glasses and Nick was at our cabin door within 2 minutes. For the most part, the service onboard was very good. Our waitstaff was also excellent.
We did have poor service the first night in the dining room when they had “open seating.” This was a new experience for us. I believe that due to the later sail time in San Juan, Celebrity decided to try an open seating format for the first evening. Our waitor that night seemed to be very new and confused. Hopefully, he improved as the week went on. We were lucky enough to be seated at a table with a veteran head waitor.
The food, glorious food onboard Celebrity. A few years ago, I was able to dine onboard a Celebrity ship during an inspection in Vancouver. At that time, Michel Roux was still the executive chef for Celebrity Cruises. I recall that the salad was a work of art. Since Michel Roux left his appointment as Celebrity’s executive chef, I have read some very inconsistent reviews on the cuisine onboard. I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but was pleasantly surprised. The food in the dining room was very good to excellent. A few of the dishes were some of the best I’ve had while cruising. The breads and breadsticks were excellent (our poor assistant waitor had to keep refilling the breadsticks!) The lobster on formal night was definitely the best lobster I’ve have onboard a ship. In the buffet area, the highlights were the made to order pizza, fresh sushi bar each evening (great for appetizers if you have late dining) fluffy belgian waffles and the homemade ice cream. I also really enjoyed the nice cheese selection by the breads in the buffet. Not just your typical sliced cheddar or swiss. Beautiful wedges of blue, camenbert, jarlsberg, etc. were served upon request. The AquaSpa cafe was also another nice option when looking for lighter, healthier fare.
It also served as a more calm and relaxing dining venue as it was located in the AquaSpa or Thallosotherapy pool area.
Speaking of the Thallosotherapy pool, can I just say that I want one! We enjoyed using the T-pool at least one time per day, either in the morning or after our excursions in port. The T-Pool is complimentary to use on the Millenium class ships and is an adults-only area. It’s a nice size heated salt water pool, with metal bar loungers to rest on while the jacuzzi bubbles massage.
There are also 4 water spouts that can be used to “massage” the kinks out of ones neck and back.
The teak lounge chairs with cushions were very comfy as well. Note to Celebrity: cushions for all of the teak lounges would be even better! The beach towels and bath towels provided by Celebrity were also very nice, more plush than some of the other cruise line towels…and always plenty available.
Ahhh, the Spa… I decided that for research-sake I had to force myself to try a spa service (wink, wink.) Two of the ladies I was traveling with and I had the Ginger and Lime scrub and full massage. We were able to make reservations for all three of us at the same time which was nice. We enjoyed a nice leisurely breakfast in the AquaSpa cafe and then went to the spa for our treatments. We each had a different massage therapist and all three of us agreed that we had one of the best massages ever.
If you are going to try a spa treatment on a cruise ship, Celebrity is the one to do it on.
More about the ship and the ports of call later…I promise!
Amy
A Room With A View – Cruise & Travel
800-571-3159
Filed under: Amy's View, Caribbean, Cruises | Tagged: AquaSpa, Celebrity Cruises, Celebrity Summit, Southern Caribbean Cruise, Thallosotherapy Pool
