Summit - 1/7 - 1/16/2005 - Food Report

As I posted recently, my husband and I were on the Summit's last 9-day
Eastern/Southern Caribbean cruise. It was our fifth Celebrity cruise,
the second on this ship (and the third with the Summit's current Master,
Captain Georgios Panagiotakis). Obviously, we're fans of the line, and
we found much to enjoy on this trip. I had a few trepidations about the
food, having read mixed reviews lately, but I'm happy to say that we
were not in the least disappointed with what we found on board.

We thought the food on this voyage was about as good as any cruise we've
been on, and better than most...with the single exception of the general
breakfast and lunch buffets, which we do not think Celebrity does well
at all. That being said, there are now so many additions and
alternatives to the buffet line, it is easy to eat (well) around it or
incorporate the things we do like into a good meal.

We are very happy that Celebrity still gives out actual trays with cloth
napkins and silverware in the Waterfall Cafe, as we really don't like
those oversized oval platters in use on many other cruiselines at all.
We also think the buffet service is quite classy, although I am starting
to lean toward enjoying the self-service flexibility a little bit more.
I like to pick out my own bacon or exactly the pieces of chicken I'd
like instead of having to point or describe what I'm looking for to the
service staff.

The selections at breakfast include a huge assortment of breads, rolls,
muffins, croissants, bagels, etc., smoked salmon with all the
accoutrements, hot and cold cereals with all the trimming, various
fruits, and steam table dishes of eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, hash,
potatoes, french toast (and a few other items that varied from day to
day). In addition, there were two omelette stations and a waffle
station serving fresh, made-to-order fare. These two areas made
breakfast in the buffet a very nice experience, and the lines were never
too out of hand.

Breakfast hours could stand to be lengthened a little bit, especially on
sea days, as several of the buffet lines were closed down at 9:30 AM,
and the egg and waffle stations at 10. There was always at least one
buffet (out of four) open late, but the closing of the others was early
and ill-timed on several mornings, with one, in particular causing
tremendously long lines. Bad form.

I had breakfast in the dining room one morning and enjoyed the eggs
benedict immensely. (If you have to get up early to pass through
immigration in St. Thomas, something good ought to come out of it!!)

A nice breakfast (and lunch and dinner) featuring lighter and healthier
food was also served in the Aquaspa Cafe. This venue served food from
breakfast through until 8 PM each evening.

The only room service we ordered was coffee each morning (and two cheese
and fruit plates when we had friends in for champagne one afternoon),
but it was served fresh and on time every time.

There was a theme to each day's buffet lunch, ranging from Italian to
Asian to American barbecue, and again, I don't find this steam table
food all that appealing. The salad selection was nice, though, and
there was always a choice of at least three dressings. And once again,
there was more than enough to supplement the buffet line. The Waterfall
(pool) Grill served decent hamburgers and hot dogs with excellent fries
each day between Noon and 6 PM. I thought the pizza at the grill was
fair to lousy.

Back inside, there was more pizza and two pasta stations with a choice
of two pastas and three to four sauces. This was pretty much an all-day
thing, starting at Noon and running all through the casual dining at night.

In the back of the Cafe, there was an excellent salad, soup and sandwich
bar with a salad of the day, as well as a make-your-own salad bar, a
sandwich of the day, as well as cold cuts, and a variety of pre-made
sandwiches and wraps. There were also more french fries here and potato
chips to put alongside your sandwich. I got a grilled corned been
Reuben here one day that was surprisingly good.

At 6 PM this area morphed into the best sushi restaurant I've yet
experienced on a cruise. There was various maki, including California,
vegetable, tuna and salmon, and nigiri sushi featuring eel, yellowtail,
tuna, salmon, shrimp and more. It was fresh and it was uniformly
delicious. I can't tell you what a tab we would have racked up at home
with all the sushi we ate on this ship.

The Waterfall Cafe served a large selection of ice cream, frozen yogurt
and sherbet from Noon to 6 PM every day. There was no charge for this,
and you could get cones or bowls with toppings like sprinkles, syrup,
coconut and the like. There were two stations that did a brisk business
every day.

We enjoyed a delightful afternoon tea in the dining room on one sea day.
The service was impeccable, and the scones, tea sandwiches and little
dessert treats were delightful The versatile classical music quartet
kept us beautifully entertained and the whole thing was quite elegant.

We ate each dinner in the dining room except for one night when the
sushi became more than a pre-meal snack g, and another, when we ate in
the Normandie Restaurant. Our waiter and assistant were friendly and
efficient. Drink preferences were quickly learned, and there was a
relaxed feeling about the entire meal. The food was uniformly good,
nicely presented, and cooked as ordered (rare was rare, medium was
medium, and so on). Ordering something extra for the table or to try
with another entree was never a problem, and one gentleman at our table
who had an aversion to onions was very nicely accommodated. He had an
advance look at the next day's menu, and his food was prepared without
onions. Our table's sommelier was the friendliest and most responsive I
have ever seen in a dining room (the one we had in the Normandie was
also exceptional), and dinner was truly a pleasure in every way each night.

Our choices during the week ran the gamut from beef to fish to pasta to
shellfish, and I wasn't disappointed by anything. I also love that
Celebrity still presents the desserts of the day on a tray so you can
see what they look like before ordering.

Finally, to wrap up this lengthy report (I should have figured my
thoughts on food would go on this long!)...a couple of quick comments on
our evening in the Normandie. The tariff is now up to $30 per person
(it was $20 the last time we were on the Summit), but we figured we'd
splurge. Not that it's an exorbitant figure, but it always irks me to
pay more for this when I'm a) on board a ship that's already serving
good food and b) living in the New York Metro Area, where I routinely
eat exceptionally well in fine dining establishments. But hey, a
vacation's a treat, right? Right. And this evening most certainly was,
from the moment we walked in until we closed the room, lingering over
after-dinner drinks some three and a half hours later. We were with two
other couples, and each of us enjoyed the evening immensely. The
service was superb (but not stuffy at all), the table-side preparations
were a pleasure to watch, the atmosphere was just beautiful, and the
food was to die for. I enjoyed one of the best Caesar salads I've ever
had, followed by a rack of lamb en croute, and the chocolate souffle for
dessert. Everybody was guided to the perfect individual selection of
cheeses for the cheese course. As we were finishing dessert, four of
our dining room tablemates, who had also eaten in the Normandie that
evening, pulled over some chairs to join us, and as I said, the (now)
ten of us proceeded to close the joint enjoying the food, the staff and
each other. Friends, it doesn't get any better than the evening we had.

As I see it, this is what cruising is all about. I was thrilled to find
this one great (and many smaller) examples of it on our Summit trip last
week.

I'll try to wrap things up tomorrow with a quicker (I hope!) look at the
rest of the staff, service, entertainment, etc. And as I said before,
if anyone has any specific questions, fire away.

~ Peri

Thank you very much for your report, Peri.

I'm sure Lee (of the northern variety) will enjoy it, too. ;-)