btobey

Northern Aurora, so jealous that you are still on Summit! We thought our June 17th sailing was wonderful. Is the itinerary the same for the 11-day?

On our cruise in June there were 2 event chic nights and believe me except for a few most outfits were anything but evening chic, so I doubt anyone would feel under dressed.

I definitely agree that most of the outfits for evening chic were not so chic! But my husband was definitely sorry that he didn't pack a long-sleeved shirts for those nights. (And with the blasting AC on the ship, being hot was definitely not an issue.)

Probably an unusual question but an issue I have a strange obsession about before every cruise, but did you find it hard to get a table in the Oceanview Cafe or chairs on the sun/pool decks on sea days? In other words, was it exceptionally crowded?

The Cafe is certainly more crowded some times than others, but there were always some tables available. DH & I generally grabbed silverware/drinks, chose a table, and then went back for food.

New question: does Summit's library have a "leave one, take one" section (i.e., leave a book, take a book)?

I can now answer my own question: the answer is NO. There were no shared book spaces in the library. In fact, although the library is a very nice little 2-deck space, there were very few books available in it overall.

What nights were “elegant” nights? Thanks.....

On our 10-day cruise a few weeks ago, there were THREE total "evening chic" nights (a surprise b/c everyone said there were two!). They were on these nights:

Day 2 - at sea

Day 5 - Bermuda, 2nd day

Day 9 - Boston

Hi - we are going Aug 5th on the Summit. We are not buffet people for dinner. so when we go to the dinning room. ? must men wear long sleeve shirts to dinner?

Haha, this is funny b/c my husband and I actually argued about this on our recent cruise! He brought no long-sleeved shirts and then was upset when reading on the ship that for evening chic "men will be comfortable in a long-sleeved shirt." It was NOT required after all, and he was allowed in the MDR on evening chic nights. He wasn't the ONLY one in shorts-sleeves, but one of only a few. So your husband can go for it if he's not worried about feeling under-dressed.

We are thinking of booking this one too.....how was it? Any noise from the theater?

We liked it! We never heard theater noise, although we also weren't usually in our cabin during the likely times to hear it (we did late seating dinner). I actually thought it was surprisingly quiet overall, and the port side was good positioning for our trip. The only thing that I would note is that b/c it's a more forward cabin, it's a longer walk from the MDR and Oceanview Cafe (buffet) on the other side of the ship. But being on Deck 6 was pretty convenient overall.

This thread is timely since I have to pack tomorrow for our cruise departing Sunday. Last 2 cruises, DH and I each had a small suitcase, a small carry-on duffel, and a shared garment bag. This cruise we hope to do away with the garment bag, in part due to airline restrictions (we are already paying for TWO checked bags) and in part due to the dress code changes over the years. Our last cruise was 14 days with HAL and I think had FOUR formal nights, most of the rest semi-formal, only a few casual...we needed A LOT of stuff!

This time we are on Celebrity and for our 10-day trip, they have only two "evening chic" nights which are less formal. I am bringing one nicer dress that I will wear for the first formal night, but the second formal night will be dressy pans (that I will wear twice). Also, rather than wearing the same evening outfit twice, some of my more casual evening wear will reappear in port--e.g., a casual knit dress for evening worn a few days later for sight-seeing. Same with several of my tops! On the sea days I'm likely to repeat the same shorts with different tops/tanks (don't take up much space) or just a bathing suit/cover-up.

As several have said on this thread already, it's very individual. I like choices, but I also don't want to have a bunch of luggage to haul around. And I hate to unload clean, unworn items--that are now likely a wrinkled mess!--at the end of a trip.

New question: does Summit's library have a "leave one, take one" section (i.e., leave a book, take a book)?

Also, as a note to those that may decide to take the walk along the beaches/dunes from Warwick to Horseshoe. Do yourself a favor and start at Warwick, since the shuttles and taxis are plentiful at Horseshoe and not necessarily so at Warwick!

Good advice; thanks! Do you have to ask the shuttle drive for a specific drop-off at Warwick?

As stated by others your best bet is the shuttles for 7$/pp. they are really just vans who will transport you right from outside the cruise ship to the new parking area near the concession stand which is a short walk to the beach....Looking at the water of Horseshoe bay beach walk left and you will encounter several giant size boulders and small coves which are perfect for picture taking some beautiful views..You wont even have to walk far to see what so many people enjoy

Thanks! Yes the shuttle definitely sounds like the way to go--I just want to make sure that it's easy to get one from the dockyard and on the way back (beach to ship) as well.

We are on the same cruise as you. From prior visits to Bermuda, I highly recommend the beach trail walk from Warwick Long Bay Beach to Horseshoe Bay Beach. The trail passes several beautiful coves along the way with perfect photo opportunities from a great vantage point and you can also enter the water at any of the coves/beaches.

We will be doing this again on one of the first 2 days (Wed. 6/20 or Thur. 6/21) as it is a must see in Bermuda.

 

Harry

Thanks Harry--this definitely sounds good! I went to Horseshoe Bay years ago on a cruise with my family, but I don't think we walked the trails, and DH has never been there at all.

There is a shuttle from the Dockyard to Horseshoe Bay. That would be the best. Snorkel Park is in the Dockyard, but it really isn't the best example of a Bermuda beach.

Thanks! Does the shuttle go both ways? Does it run pretty regularly?

The next day, we all took the shuttle service to Warwick Long Bay to do the walk thru the beaches and dunes to Horseshoe, the shuttle driver Dean, was an absolute pleasure and in that short trip from Dockyard to Warwick he imparted way more information than Robert did in the 5 hours. On our return from Horseshoe we took a taxi (after carefully looking at the tyres) and the driver Kevin, was super affable and again informative. We explained our miserable tour of the day before, and Kevin spent much time aghast and very apologetic on behalf of Robert.

I'm interested in this part of your trip. Did you have to book the shuttle to Warwick Bay in advance? How much was it? How much to get the tax back? Was the taxi easy to find? Thank you!

Other than buying an international plan with my carrier AT&T for $10 (I think) a day, I understand the free WiFi opportunities in the Dockyard are at the Frog and Onion and the Visitor Center.

Is there free wifi in these locations?

We will be in Bermuda for three days the week of June 17th. While we prefer to do more general sight-seeing than a beach day, I would still like to check out at least one pretty beach--take some photos, put my feet in the water, etc.

Which beach is most accessible from the dockyard? I would love to be able to walk to one, but I don't think there are any nearby, so I'd be interested in what's easiest to get to via public transportation. If we decide to head to St. George's and/or Hamilton (on the ferries), are there beaches within walking distance from either of those locations?

Flying fish is a specialty of Barbados. It's mild like tilapia and available everywhere.

When we were there 5 years ago (not on a cruise), our favorite things were going on the Segway tour on the northeast part of the island and seeing the green monkeys at the Barbados zoo.

 

We were just in 6115 on a B2B cruise. They actually moved the smoking area down and directly under our cabin. We never smelled any smoke from there. Cabin 6031 is nowhere near the smoking section but who knows if they move it again.

Thanks for this response; hopefully we will be okay. If there was an all non-smoking ship, I would be very interested!

We had one of these balconies, and the smoke was very bad for me. I love to sit out on my balcony, and there were times when I couldn't. The smoke wafted straight up to my balcony on deck 6. I might be hyper sensitive, though. Just my experience.

 

What was your cabin number? We are in 6031--I hope we won't have this issue! :o

If you are arriving at the port separately and at different times you'll need two. Otherwise, if travelling together and using only one credit card that will be charged with both of your onboard charges one express pass with both names on it is sufficient.

It's my husband and I, so we will be arriving together and using the same card. ;)

You only need one express pass. The agent will verify with your passports and scan your credit card.

Thanks for the info!

Thanks so much for posting! We are sailing out on Summit next week (June 17); it will be our first time, although we have been on Celebrity before.

I don't have any particular questions just now, but I'll follow-up to a couple of things already mentioned:

1) Would getting in really early at Bayonne help to avoid the customs backup?

2) You mentioned the "Rooftop Terrace Movies"--are these the movies shown during the paid food pairings, or are these free movies available to all?

Thanks again; we are getting very excited about our trip!

We did the online checkin for our upcoming Celebrity Cruise (on June 17) as soon as it was available. My husband received an "Xpress Pass" in his name, listing him as being the "primary pass holder." I am listed under the section with the cabin number; also, in the separate section where it says "primary reservation," both of our names are listed.

So, we just have the one Xpress pass document. My husband actually has asked Celebrity about whether we need more than one Xpress pass, but they said that because the reservation was in his name/his credit card, that is why he is listed as primary and why we only need one pass for our "group" (the two of us). However, my husband has read references to needing Xpress "passes" (plural) for each person in the party.

So my question is, is the one Xpress pass that has both of our names sufficient, or do we need a copy and/or to otherwise obtain a second one?

I will be on the June 17 Summit sailing. I usually save the dallies, so I will try to remember to post some when we get home!

Yes.

We ordered whatever wine we wanted but always reminded the sommelier that we were on the classic package!

He remembered our favourites by the 4th night :D Our final bill showed no additional charges for the wine served!

Thanks to you both! This our first time with a beverage package. We enjoy drinking on vacation but are not picky at all, so want to make sure we stay within our limits (haha, that has a dual meaning...).

Interesting discussion! I peaked at this thread because DH & I both turn 50 this year (me already). Like the original poster, we don't have kids, and although we are not retired (well, DH kind of is b/c he left his law firm back in 2008 to pursue writing, but I work full-time as a psychologist and part time as a yoga instructor), not having children tends to put us in the same category as people older than us.

Our last cruise was in 2008 (40th birthdays/5-year anniversary), on HAL Amsterdam. Although I think I saw one infant during the lifeboat drill, we were among the youngest on the ship. In fact, one night we were exiting the elevator, and a woman with a British accent said "I've spotted the young couple!" :D

We also decided to sell our 4-bedroom house in 2012 and move to a townhouse community with a HOA--there's not an age limit and it's not a retirement community, but again, we are among the youngest there! We do find most older people to be very friendly, and we tend to get along with them very well. I expect that the crowd will be a bit more mixed next month when we sail Celebrity.