This is our 14th cruise and by far the best yet. We'll be back.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Arrived to the port, waited in line as expected. Checked in without any problems and boarded the ship. Met with an offering of complimentary beverages, including champagne. Our usual cruise line dropped that years ago. Would have given 5 stars except we were bombarded throughout the day about the drink package. Our lunch was interrupted 3 times by staff asking what drink package we liked. When I replied none, I was then asked why I don't drink. Obnoxious. We hid in our room until dinner. We were not asked again after dinner or through the balance of the cruise.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Ate breakfast and dinner in the main dining rooms. Food was mostly very good with a few excellent. Lunch was from the pizza station or poolside grill. Both very good. We had 2 dinners at the specialty restaurants which were good to very good but at the upside prices, we expected excellent. We'll stick to the main dining room in the future. Wine and cocktails are overpriced for what's given.
Le Petit Chef
3 out of 5
We felt we paid for an experience rather than a meal. Food is presented in a fun playful manner and of the 8 different small dishes we chose from, only 2 stood out as being very good.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We primarily used the pool and spa areas, a couple visits to the casinos. The pool and spa areas are both open to all guests which is a nice change from our usual cruise line that requires a special paid pass for the spa area. Woman's spa changing area has a sauna with a large open window looking outside; was lovely to enjoy. Pool butlers kept the areas clean and often freed up lounge chairs from wet towels dumped there by other guests. There was one sea day and it was difficult to find two loungers in the shade at lunchtime but in port days there was plenty to choose from. Casino was typical but a nice bar area with daily 2 for 1 drink specials.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
A couple of live music acts were very good. We especially liked the "Lucky Band" because of their rock and jazz standards. Saw the opening stage show and a comedian. Both were good.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Service and Staff were the best we've encountered. Even with the annoying hard sell on the beverage package on embarkation day and a rude casino worker who kept insulting my husband at one of the games table, I still give them 5 stars. From the cleaning crew we'd encounter in the hallways early in the morning to the late night wait staff, everyone greeted us with genuine smiles. Most surprising was to have Captain Kate shake our hands and thank us for cruising with her as we left the ship on the last day. We often saw her walking around, greeting staff and guests alike, briefly observing the art auction and giving a twice daily message. Her passion for her work appears to trickle down to all the crew and it was a palpable good vibe all around.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Although the Summit is an older ship lacking a lot of the frills the new ships have, she was clean and well-maintained. There are signs of age; our shower broke the second to last day but was quickly repaired within hours.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Cabin was clean upon arrival with a few dusty exceptions. We had a large window so lots of natural light reflected off the wall of mirrors. The mattress was very firm and we were cursing it by cruise end, but that's a personal preference.
Ship tip
Gateway to land is on the 1st deck. Since we stayed on 3, we often took the stairs to many events happening on decks 3, 4 and 5. Had a typical elevator wait to get topside.
Smoothest ever. We received our luggage tags directly to our cabin (no need to run to guest services to get them) and had a disembarkation time of 8:20am. At breakfast, 8:15 am, our number was called and we went to the gang way, shook Captain Kate's hand, was thanked for sailing with her, and walked off. Our luggage was where it was supposed to be, waited in a line for customs, dropped our luggage off for delivery to the airport, and was on the bus to the airport by 8:45.
We love those Millennium class ships, even after sailing on a Solstice class ship, we booked our next cruise on board and we're going back to the Summit for our next cruise.
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