persimmondeb

Dad has decided he wants to go to Bermuda.

Holland America keeps sending him snazzy offers. In this case the Veendam out of Boston for $749. Before booking, I took a look around at what else might be available, and the Summit is out of Bayonne for $599 a person inside with a beverage package thrown in.

Bayonne is a much, much easier port for us. I am delighted not to have to drag a somewhat frail eighty-six year old to Boston. Also not only is it cheaper, we don't have to pay for transport to Boston, hotels in Boston, or cabs in Boston.

However, Dad likes HAL. He's been on it twice, and while we end up on Carnival with some frequency, Dad greatly prefers Holland America. Celebrity is kind of an unknown quantity. No-one in the family has ever been on it, and I've seen some lackluster reviews.

Is Celebrity going to be a comparable experience, or is Dad going to be grumpy?

Eschew

The summit is a decent ship. Your Dad should enjoy it. The passengers demographic may be a bit younger than him and the music maybe a bit "newer" for his taste but everything else should be fine.

Celebrity is on par with Princess and HAL IMHO.

persimmondeb

It did seem to be comparable, and the cost/convenience ratio is probably going to win out. Even if it does skew a little younger, all cruise ships have old people. Even on Carnival he found contemporaries, although he hates their decor. The Summit looked reasonably subdued. I still don't think he's gotten over the Bacchus restaurant on the Miracle.

Thanks, Eschew.

persimmondeb

It did seem to be comparable, and the cost/convenience ratio is probably going to win out. Even if it does skew a little younger, all cruise ships have old people. Even on Carnival he found contemporaries, although he hates their decor. The Summit looked reasonably subdued. I still don't think he's gotten over the Bacchus restaurant on the Miracle.

Thanks, Eschew.

persimmondeb

Uurgh! Double post!

Eschew

The decor on Celebrity is definitely more subdued compare to Carnival and NCL; and the wait staff won't break out into a singing and dancing routine in the dining room like the Carnival ships.

Both ships are considered "small" comparing to today's mega ships and the Veendam is quite a bit smaller than the Summit. (passengers: 1300 vs 2100, tonnage: 57000 vs 91000)

Both are also considered "old" as Veendam was launched in 1996 and the Summit in 2001 but Veendam had a face lift back in 2009.

I don't belief your Dad should get grumpy on the Summit, especially with the beverage package (is it wine/alcohol too?).

persimmondeb

The room we booked didn't actually qualify for the package, but it's okay at that price. We did go ahead and pull the trigger, and my sister and her little boy are coming along as well (2 cabins).

I pulled up some YouTube videos, and we think Dad should be happy. No singing in the dining room is huge for him.

Thanks!