Celebrity Summit Cruise Ship

 

“Take me to the ocean. Let me sail the open sea. To breathe the warm and salty air, and dream of things to be.”

Erica Billups

So we did this thing. Our friend Mike Moyer, set up a group cruise for us and some of Joe’s Army bandsmen friends from his Army days long ago. He picked out this four night cruise on Celebrity Summit to Key West and Nassau, Bahamas. We were anxious to be together again with our friends. We always have such a nice time with them. They are the kind of friends that it doesn’t matter if we don’t see them in a year but we pick up right where we left off. We are blessed having these friends as they are a rare and special bunch. Our friend, Mike Moyer is our cruise travel agent from Cruise Planners and did a terrific job organizing this group cruise and many others we have had the pleasure of taking with him. If you are looking for help with a cruise, he is your man. He can be reached at michael.moyer@cruiseplanners.com.

Now a little information about this stunning ship. The Celebrity Summit is a Millennium class ship that was built in 2001 in Chantiers de L’Allan in Saint Nazaire, STX France and sails under the Malta Flag. This ship is 965’ long, has twelve decks, and can carry 2158 – 2590 passengers as well as 997 crew members. There are 1079 total staterooms to include suites to inside cabins. When this ship was first launched it was under the name GTS Summit and was later renamed Celebrity Summit in 2008.

Celebrity was founded in 1988 under the Greek Chandris Line which was a shipping line from 1974 to 1996. I only bring this up to let you know why their in a large X on the ship. The X on the ship is a Greek letter for Chi which stands for Chandris.

This ship is both beautiful and clean with a sophisticated and calm atmosphere. In fact, in 2023 they got a 100 on their cleanliness ratings. It has also received a recommended rating from Forbes Travel Guide which means a lot to the cruising industry. This ship is one of the first cruise ships that is powered by more environmentally friendly gas turbines. That being said, there were areas we loved and some we were disappointed in. The main thing we loved was the Cosmopolitan Dining room with windows from floor to ceiling. What an amazing view our group had since our table was close to the windows. The staff was stellar and made our mealtime very pleasurable and fun. Our good friends Rusty and Diane celebrated their anniversary while on the ship and the staff made it so special.

We also loved the many quiet bar and lounges where we were always able to find enough seats to sit as a group. We never once had an issue of not being able to sit together. Our room was elegant and lovely as well. We enjoyed sitting on our balcony. I loved that the Captain of the ship, Captain Dimitis Petras was seen around the ship throughout our voyage. He showed up at the shows and was hilarious. We really enjoyed him. On our way from Miami to Key West, he made the statement, “We are moving so slow that I could walk faster than we are moving.”

We also loved that they opened up the helicopter pad for private groups for a cocktail party. We would have loved to have gone but it conflicted with our groups dinner. One night they had an Abba party that was a lot of fun. We love us some Abba.

Another wonderful thing they did was to open up the Galley for a tour. It seemed as though everyone on the ship was at that event. They introduced us to all many of the galley staff including Chef Pancho was is one of the Executive Chefs. It was fascinating to see how the galley was organized and how it worked so smoothly to feed all these people. On the Summit, there are 160 cooks, 250 Chiefs and cleaners, as well as three executive Sous-Chiefs. On an average day, this crew serves up to 16,000 dishes for the guest and crew. It was interesting hearing the amount of food consumed onboard in a seven day period. Examples are: 14,542 pounds of beef, 2,560 pounds of pork, 812 gallons of cream, 12,000 fresh eggs, 8,000 pounds of rice, 175 pounds of jelly, 460 bottles of champagne, 35,000 liters of beer, 48,659 pounds of fresh vegetables, 76,540 liters of milk, 19,000 tea bags, and 650 gallons of ice cream. Can you imagine placing that order or being in charge of making sure you had enough food? Wow.

The only thing I was really disappointed in on this ship was there was no main Centrum. Their main steps lead directly to Guest Services and when their was musicians preforming, there were people dancing on all levels with no main stage area to sit and watch them play. So because of that, we didn’t get a chance to listen to a lot of the music being played in that area. The main staircase led straight down to Guest Services. We also missed having a promenade where all the stores are located and some may even have small clubs to visit. But that is truly just our preference. They did have what was called the Emporium Shopping Alley that did sell jewelry, watches, tobacco, and duty free alcohol which was nice but small. The shows we saw were okay but not spectacular but the Summit Theater was gorgeous and could seat 900 guests. You got great views of the stage from any of the three decks.

This ship was dry docked for three weeks in 2012 while being refurbished and sparkled up a bit. At that time all the public spaces and staterooms were renovated plus they added an additional 60 cabins and 107 Aqua Class Cabins. Then again in 2019, this ship went in to get a new color scheme, and having all staterooms redesigned with upgrades including Cashmere bedding. I must say, our bed was super comfortable, and now I know why. Thanks Celebrity.

There were not a lot of children on this cruise but this ship did offer a kids club so the little ones can enjoy their trip as much as the adults. There are four pools and six hot tubs on level 10 along with a grill, Ocean view Cafe/ Sunset Bar and a fitness center. The Retreat area of the ship is an adults only area with a lovely sundeck, with a full size pool, Jacuzzi, cabanas, and a convenient pool side full bar.

This boat also offers a good size fitness center to use some of the calories you’ve taken in and also The Spa if you are looking to be pampered, oh my. What a great place to relax. Enjoy the live musicians playing all around the ship. There was always plenty to do while on the ship. If you love Bingo, you’ve come to the right place. Their Casino was state of the art. If you are not into that, you can check out the art gallery where you can buy a special print or a one of a kind picture. The photo gallery is where you can schedule to get special picture taken or view the ones all ready taken of you and your special someone or group, and if that wasn’t enough you can even watch a movie under the stars. And if you haven't had enough food, you can also choose to go to one of the many pay restaurants.  So many choices. 

One more thing about not just this cruise but cruising in general.  Who doesn't love just looking out at the sea in wonder of its vastness.  The sunsets are magnificent and just brings a wonderful feeling of peace as you sail through the water.  This was a beautiful ship to sail on and we had a great cruise. Would we use Celebrity again? Absolutely and we would recommend it to anyone.

Till next time. Bye for now.