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Lillykat
going along for the ride...
Member since 5/05 16253 total posts
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Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
We just got back from what was supposed to be a 7 night cruise to Bermuda on Celebrity's Summit. I haven't really seen any family reviews of Celebrity so I thought some might find it helpful/interesting.
We did lose the 1st day to Irene (we were supposed to sail on Sunday but the ship didn't sail until Monday afternoon instead) - so we lost one sea day off the cruise. Otherwise there were no other changes in the itinerary.
We sailed from Bayonne. It was SO easy to just pack the girls and bags into the car and drive to NJ. So much easier than flying. You drive up to this tent and they take your bags right from your car. Then you drive around and park right next to the building.
Check on was quick and we were on within about 15-20 mins. They give all children who participate in the fun factory a plastic bracelet they must wear all week which identity them if they need to evacuate the ship. There were 500 children on our sailing.
We had what they call a Family View Room - which is amazing and I highly recommend it if you can get one (they are very hard to get). Our room was on the aft of the ship so we had a huge balcony (table and 2 chairs, 2 full recliners and 2 lounge chairs). It has both sun and shade so the best of both worlds. It was never too windy either so you can enjoy it all day at sea. There was some motion on the trip back but nothing really on the trip down to Bermuda. I liked the family view room because it has TONS of storage (for those who sail you will understand why that is rare) - full closet, glass doors with shelves, plus about 8-10 draws. It is basically 2 rooms. One room with a queen bed, vanity, TV, bathroom. Then there is a sliding door that leads to 2 couches (one converts to a bed and one pulls out to a double bed), another TV, and then a sliding door to the balcony. The room technically sleeps 5. The balcony door has a latch up top so the children can't easily just open the door and go out. We had plenty of privacy and really enjoyed the room. I think it spoiled us though and it will be hard to go back to a regular room after this.
Here are some pictures of the room (sorry for the mess I took these the last day or two)
Girls room:
Suites beneath us so we weren't directly over the water which was nice with the girls.
We were supposed to have 2 sea days going down, 3 days in Bermuda and one sea day returning. We lost our 1st sea day.
As I mentioned there were 500 children on board and DD#1 LOVED the fun factory. They have video games, a climbing structure with a ball pit, tons of games, toys etc. They do everything from scavenger hunts, to various themes (superheros, animals, music etc). They do various games, arts and crafts etc. DD went there every day and we practically had to drag her out every time. At the end of the week they do a talent show for the parents. DD was in 3 different things (hula hoops, chicken dance and some dance with scarves). She loved it and I have nothing but great things to say about it. Now - before we sailed we were told if DD#2 was potty trained she would be allowed to participate in any 3-5 age group activity provided she was accompanied by an adult at all times. When we checked DD#1 in on the pier they told us no DD#2 could only use the toddler room (which they do have - as well as treasure chests of leapfrog toys for under 3), but this turned out not to be the case and they did allow her to participate. We only brought her maybe 2 hours all week though as she was happier swimming and wandering the ship. DD#2 is 27 months and potty trained just so she could swim in the pools. She asked us for weeks to see the photos of the pool she got rid of her diapers to swim in.
DD#1 has a lot of food allergies (milk, shellfish, chocolate, oranges, and strawberries). So we can't just go and easily feed her. They bent over backwards to accommodate her all week. The assistant maitre d' would meet with me at dinner each night and I told him what she would like to eat and they took care of it each day. She had hard boil eggs, soy waffles, melon for breakfasts. Lunch I went to the aqua spa (their health area) and they made her fresh grilled tuna, pork loin, chicken and would steam broccoli and carrots for her, she got Prosciutto and melon, etc. She had tons of watermelon, cantelope, honeydew, apples, grapes. They even made her some fries. Dinners they made her fruit plates, salads, pear soup, watermelon and papaya soup, steaks, fillet mignon, chicken fingers, etc. Desserts were a bit harder - but they ended up making her a lemon sorbet that she LOVED and they had it available for her all week. They even had her vanilla soy milk ready and waiting for her at dinner time. They all bent over backwards to make sure that she was happy. We didn't know this but we could have requested additional items and they would have it waiting on board for her - so we know for next time. They made her milk free breads, etc. If you have a child with food allergies they really made it a great experience. They were willing to make her not only anything she wants but they were even willing to try to make almost anything on the menu without dairy to accommodate her.
Bermuda. I have been to the Caribbean a number of times but this was our 1st Bermuda cruise. We loved the island. Unfortunately the weather was not good our 1st day and it rained all day. We ended up going to the aquarium and zoo which the girls enjoyed and it was a great rainy day activity.
The next morning it was very overcast so we didn't want to go all the way to Horseshoe Bay in case it rained (the forecast was for rain all three days 60% the 1st and 30% the next two days). So we walked over to snorkel park. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we had the beach almost completely to ourselves for about 1-2 hours. It is a great place to take kids. No surf, soft sand, and clear water. The girls loved swimming around and digging in the sand.
Our last day we took a taxi around to Horseshoe Bay. It was very windy and very rough. There is a great small cove to the right of the beach that was perfect for young children and that seemed to be where most families spent their time. The beach was fairly crowded with what seemed to be mainly Celebrity Summit and NCL Gem passengers.
Our last day at sea was a bit rough but sunny and nice. Unfortunately, DD#2 who had no trouble on the way down had some on and off again motion sickness all day. But she was still able to have a good time.
Disembarkation was very easy as well. We got right off our bags were right there, the skycap even brought the bags to our car.
If anyone has any questions feel free to FM me. I know that I see people say that Celebrity isn't very family friendly so we were concerned before we sailed (we went with my parents - so they choose this trip). Everywhere we went the staff treated our children like princesses and we had more than enough to keep them occupied for the week.
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Posted 9/4/11 3:13 PM  |
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Tine73
Member since 3/06 22093 total posts
Name:
*********
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Great review. Thanks so much for sharing. I have only been on a Royal Caribbean cruise. If you have been on RCCL, how does it compare? Your outdoor space was amazing!!
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| Posted 9/4/11 7:10 PM |
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MommaG
Yay Spring!
Member since 5/05 5133 total posts
Name:
Gloria
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
I love Celebrity cruises -they always seem to bend over backwards to make their passengers happy. And that suite was  !
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| Posted 9/4/11 8:39 PM |
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Lillykat
going along for the ride...
Member since 5/05 16253 total posts
Name:
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Posted by MommaG
I love Celebrity cruises -they always seem to bend over backwards to make their passengers happy. And that suite was !
It wasn't a suite it is a regular balcony cabin category called Family View room. They are just hard to come by b.c they are so popular. Yes, they really did bend over backwards to do everything to make our trip relaxing and enjoyable. Celebrity's service really is better than what we experienced on other lines.
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| Posted 9/5/11 8:08 AM |
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Lillykat
going along for the ride...
Member since 5/05 16253 total posts
Name:
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Posted by Tine73
Great review. Thanks so much for sharing. I have only been on a Royal Caribbean cruise. If you have been on RCCL, how does it compare? Your outdoor space was amazing!!
Well we personally haven't done RCCL yet - I would like to try them b.c we are Elite with Celebrity and so we would have I think diamond status with RCCL. I have had friends and family go on both. They say - Celebrity - service and food much better, RCCL has more activities - on some ships - carousel, rock wall, wave rider, more late night action. So it really depends on what you are looking for. My daughter LOVED the fun factory and there was never a minute that either girl was bored all week. My parents came with us and we went one night to the Normandie specialty restaurant and since we are Elite they have their own private lounge from 5-7 where you get free drinks - so my parents took the girls for 30-60 mins a couple of nights so we could go and have a drink. But honestly we were up early with the girls so we didn't do a lot of "night life activities". We went to one or two shows with DD#2 and more enjoyed walking around the ship, swimming in the pools, etc. I would definitely try RCCL someday just to see all the hype of their new ships but even my husband said that this cruise was really relaxing. BTW I have also sailed on NCL and Princess.
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| Posted 9/5/11 8:13 AM |
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JandJ1224
Member since 6/06 5911 total posts
Name:
Jannette
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We are looking at a cruise to Bermuda for next year probably on ncl our girls will be 2 and 4.
Looks like you had a great time!
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| Posted 9/5/11 12:35 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
We took the same cruise last year. I am so glad that you had a wonderful time.
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| Posted 9/5/11 1:05 PM |
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itsbabytime
LIF Adult
Member since 11/05 9644 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Great review...sounds like a wonderful trip!
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| Posted 9/5/11 4:14 PM |
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Lillykat
going along for the ride...
Member since 5/05 16253 total posts
Name:
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Posted by JandJ1224
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We are looking at a cruise to Bermuda for next year probably on ncl our girls will be 2 and 4.
Looks like you had a great time!
We were docked and our room looked out on the Gem. I have a bunch of pictures of the Gem from our ship if you would like to see them. They have a lot of announcements so we heard them all three days and they sounded like they were having fun.
I spoke with several parents on Horseshoe Bay who were on the Gem and they said they were having a great time. They said that they had I think about 1000 kids (we had 500 on our ship) this past week.
We enjoyed the aquarium and zoo (great rainy day activity even though some of it was outside). Not too big easy to do in a short time in the morning.
We did snorkel park one day - Small beach - but it is literally a short walk from the Gem. The water was very smooth and the girls enjoyed seeing a few fish from the shallow water. It was perfect for the girls.
Horseshoe bay was very windy and very rough the day we were there. We jumped a couple waves but I wouldn't take the girls in there b.c it was really rough and undertoe was pretty strong. But there is a gorgeous small cove right next to the beach that is perfect for small children. Only a few flat rocks and very soft sand.
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| Posted 9/5/11 6:29 PM |
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Bops
My 3 wishes
Member since 12/07 13625 total posts
Name:
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Posted by Tine73
Great review. Thanks so much for sharing. I have only been on a Royal Caribbean cruise. If you have been on RCCL, how does it compare? Your outdoor space was amazing!!
I am curious to this as well !
I have sailed both RCCL and Carnival and definately preferred RCCL...
That is some room !! Thanks for such a detailed review
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| Posted 9/5/11 6:37 PM |
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wcs3504
my boys
Member since 2/06 2506 total posts
Name:
Wanda (formerly cw0904 on LIW)
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Omg that cabin!!! We only sale in balcony cabins but what you had is amazing! Thanks for the detailed review. 
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| Posted 9/5/11 8:33 PM |
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Lillykat
going along for the ride...
Member since 5/05 16253 total posts
Name:
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Re: Celebrity Summit to Bermuda review...
Posted by wcs3504
Omg that cabin!!! We only sale in balcony cabins but what you had is amazing! Thanks for the detailed review.
That IS a balcony cabin it is NOT a suite!!! It is just called a family view - and is meant for families. That was what was so great about it.
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| Posted 9/6/11 9:09 AM |
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