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Crossing the Atlantic, Summit-style! |
| Reviewed By: Freeborn, Kallithea, Drepano, Greece on 8th Oct 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: Summit |
Sailed:
March,
2008 |
| Destination: Transatlantic |
Age: 46-55 |
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This was our 8th cruise, second time on Celebrity (previously we sailed on Millennium) and first time on Summit. We felt that standards of cleanliness were not as good as we expected - on arrival in our concierge class stateroom, we had to summon the attendant to clean our bathroom, which was still dirty. The next day, we found an old, dirty flip-flop under the bed!
However, our 21 day, back-to-back cruise was fabulous and I can't recommend the 're-positioning' cruise experience highly enough. You get enough sea days to relax in a big way and plenty of really good activities to choose from - the daily lectures by naturalist and whale expert Pieter Folkens were a highlight for us. The staff, led by cruise director Gary Walker (a fellow Brit and the best cruise director we've come across by far) were like old friends by the time we left the ship and went out of their way to remember who you were and where you came from.
The food in the main dining room as a bit below par for us, compared with our previous Celebrity experience. Soups were always lukewarm at best when they arrived and getting a steak cooked to your satisfaction seemed impossible. The standards in the self-service restaurant were excellent, however.
Of particular note, however, were the shows. We were happy to see them twice (as we did two cruises back-to-back, some shows were repeated) as they were so good. One guest comedian was very good, the other poor. It was a similar story for guest singers, with the British Jaqui Scott proving the best by far.
Concierge class is worth the bit extra that you pay, for the little touches that make your cruise memorable. We got several bottles of champagne in our stateroom, chocolates and canapes every night.
Some ports of call on the crossing were disappointing - Gijon was a very ordinary little town, made more so by the fact that it was freezing on the day we called. We had a coffee, briskly walked around the town and went back on board. Vigo was pleasant, but there's little to see, ditto Cherbourg and La Rochelle. We were disappointed by the amount we were charged for shuttle buses - $8 each - in these places, given that in Cherbourg the town was only a short walk from the ship. Celebrity should be more honest about this.
But - would we do it again? DEFINITELY!
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Good in self-service, patchy in main restaurant. | | Entertainment |  |
| All the ensemble shows were brilliant. The west end musical compilation - with excerpts from Les Miserables - was outstanding. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| Great excursion to see Nutmeg farm, etc in Grenada. | | Staff | |
| Gary Walker, cruise director. Worth double his salary for personal attention, energy and making the cruise so memorable. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Great quizzes - especially the 'cruise director's daily trivia team challenge'. | | Cabins | |
| Yes - though cleanliness was not as good at first as it should be. | | Overall Rating | |
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Some of our favourite QE 2 pics!
QM2 
Iberian Interlude - The Chiles'
Baltic Highlights
