Celebrity Cruises - Summit Review

I put this somewhere else - but I thought it's more fitting here in this category:

What can I say, in summer of 2007, we took a Celebrity cruise aboard the Summit that went from Seward, Alaska southbound to Vancouer, British Columbia. I absolutely loved it. I was not looking forward to it prior to going because of various reasons, including the possibilty of getting seasick. But from the start, our luggage had no problems making it to our room. Our room was on the penthouse deck (which is the 3rd deck down with rooms), so we were able to check-in in a special line. The ship was very well kept, the wait staff for the dining was great, the waiter for a dinner was great, and the room staff was great.

We did have a balcony in our room so it gave us another option to enjoy the scenery while at sea without having to leave our room. The ship sightsee'd Hubber Glacier the first day (the weather was not great there) but we were allowed to go to the front of the ship where the helipad was to view it. Throughout the trip, the captain or staff would announce over the PA system when they spotted wildlife (such as Orca whales etc) so that everyone could get a chance to see.

Aboard the ship: One night, they had a big ice sculpture + dessert, snack exhibit in one of the restuarants and that was nice. The entertainment shows were only ok in my opinion. But it is a cruise, so I did not expect much. They did a broadway medley, they also had 2 performer who I believe were in Cirque de Soleil (they were very good). They had an acappella group (I believe college kids?) who were decent. The art auction was nice, they had some nice pieces there. They also had a ping pong tournament and the ever popular bingo. A lot of typical events that one would expect from a cruise was there.

The Ports: Our trip stopped at Juneno (sp), Skagway, Icy Straight Point & Ketchican. It seemed like the Summit allowed us ample time to sightsee and do excursions before we left. Some days we had until 8 pm, some days we had until 5:30. I think only one day, we had until 3:30 or 4 pm. Icy Straight Point was probably the least exciting port of the 4. I heard it was a place that mainly Celebrity stopped at.

We did not book any of our excursions through Celebrity although our tablemates did. One couple did a few excursions and also the 1 week on-land excursion prior to the cruise. One couple just did a few excursions. We did booked our own excursions because it was cheaper, and truthfully, I thought that our excursions were the same if not better than the ones offered by Celebrity. All the companies there pretty much work with cruiselines and they will adhere to getting people back on time to catch the ship.

All in all, I had a great experience. I would definitely consider traveling with Celebrity again. The cruise line overall is quite expensive although we managed to get a fairly good deal. Would recommend to anyone who is looking for middle-budget cruise with great service and willing to spend a little more for it.

Note: I agree with the person who mentioned the hard sell on the photography they take. Most of the time it's not a very good photo (according to my DH who is very into photography). It was very frustrating at times to deal with them.