Atwell

The highlight of this cruise for most people is undoubtedly St. Petersburg. For a tourist interested in museums, palaces, and historical sites, it rivals Rome, Paris, and London in my opinion. I agree that booking private tours with SPB, Alla, or other well known tour agencies will allow you to see more at a lower cost. Stockholm is nice as well as Helsinki, Copenhagen and the other stops but nothing compares with St. Petersburg. Be prepared for a lot of walking and long days if you tour in these ports as there is so much to see. However, save yourself for St. Petersburg.

Here are a few photos from St. Petersburg:

The Catherine Palace

Art student copying a painting in the Hermitage

The Imperial Chapel at the Peterhof

St. Isaac's Square and Cathedral

St. Nicholas Cathedral

I docks with Celebrity Summit al 6:00 a.m. and I've the flight at 10:00 a.m ..I've read that some people leaving the ship by theirselves at 7:40...is it true?Can I take the flight or I'll lose it?:confused:

We have flown out of San Juan after cruises many times. Personally, I would not schedule a flight that early as it is too risky. However, if you do so, the quickest way would be to take a cab to the airport - not the Celebrity transfer bus. If you can't walk off the ship with your luggage, then the quickest way through will be to hire a porter in the luggage hall. They have their own ways to bypass the long lines and get you through Customs and Passport Control quickly and out the door to the waiting taxis. As mentioned in the earlier response, don't forget to put your luggage through the Agricultural Inspection x-ray just inside the airport before you go to check-in at the airline counter or you will be sent back. I would also advise hiring a porter at the airport, they also have ways to bypass some of the lines.

Does anyone know where the Elite breakfast for Captains Club members is served on Summit please. Used to be in Michaels Club but that room is now for suite guests.

In Jan. 2015 the Elite breakfast was in the Normandie Restaurant just as it was in 2014. Now you order from a limited menu because the small buffet is no longer offered. There are never very many people, so if you like a quiet venue for a continental-style breakfast, this is the place for you.

Hello, we have cruised multiple times on the Equinox, but never on the Summit. I have several questions and know the experts here will be able to help. Thanks in advance.

 

1. We are looking to book Concierge Class, Deck 7, aft. I have read that many of these rooms look down on the awnings over the balconies of the suites below. Is this true for all of Deck 7 rooms, just a part of the ship, the aft cabins, or??

 

2. Anyone have photos out of their cabin on Deck 7, looking down on an awning below? How much of your view do is blocked?

 

 

Again, thanks so much for your help!

We had an aft cabin on Summit Deck 8 in January. Below is a photo looking out which will show the awnings on Deck 7. I imagine the view from Deck 7 is about the same. The aft cabins are wonderful in our opinion.

So….

Are any of the aft-facing balcony cabins aboard the Summit preferred over the other?? Any of the balconies "better" than some of the others?

 

Thanks for your help!

Deck 8 is great, too. Deck 9 aft is right under the Oceanview Bar (with smoking allowed on the port side of the bar), so I personally would avoid those cabins.

As of the end of January 2015, smoking was definitely still permitted on the port side of the Sunset Bar. (We had one of the aft cabins on Deck 8 for our B2B. Can't give any info on the Deck 11 aft cabins but Deck 8 aft is fantastic).

Let me be more specific that I am confirming the Summit still allows smoking on the port side of the Oceanview Bar (outside the buffet on Deck 10) as of the end of January 2015. (I believe the Sunset Bar name is used on the S-class ships). Sorry for any confusion.

We were in 1138 on sister Infinity and have sailed on the Summit.

I don't believe that smoking is still permitted on the port side of the Sunset Bar. I know it is no longer permitted on the Infinity.

Have a great cruise.

As of the end of January 2015, smoking was definitely still permitted on the port side of the Sunset Bar. (We had one of the aft cabins on Deck 8 for our B2B. Can't give any info on the Deck 11 aft cabins but Deck 8 aft is fantastic).

I was on the Summit May 2014. We were told that basket servings in the buffet were being tried as an experiment. I did not like it. Food was often cold. Do they still serve using the metal baskets? or have they returned to just using plates. The food selections on the Summit were quite varied with theme desserts. The variety was excellent. I loved the cupcake day. On my Eclipse cruise Jan. 2015, there were no baskets. The buffet was basically the same everyday. There were a few slight variations at lunch and dinner. No cupcakes. Just wondering what is being done at the buffet on the Summit.

During Jan 2015 there were very few baskets to be seen - just used for a few items. Actually, during two weeks I never had an item served in a basket and I eat a wide variety of foods. They still have the themed dessert days as you mentioned (and I believe they did have a cupcake day). Trays are back if you want/need to use one, although smaller than the old days. Overall, the food in the buffet area was very good IMO.

While I can not comment on the ships shore excursions I would definitely recommend SPB Tours. We used SPB Tours and they were fantastic.

We also would highly recommend SpB Tours. However, any of the major private tour companies would be excellent. You definitely will see more than on a ship's tour and costs less, too. Do not worry about getting back to the ship on time. These tour companies have their reputations at stake and if they ever fail to get a tour back on time, they will be done with cruise ship business, so they will get you back - you can be sure of that.

For those passengers on a b2b and have different cabins...when do they move? Does the move take place before the 10:30 muster? We want to take a jaunt to El Yunque and need to get a handle on the timing issues. And, can b2b passengers in the same cabin access their cabin before the open corridor announcement?

I appreciate your response. Thank you.

We had the same room for our B2B so we have no first-hand experience but I believe they told the passengers in the B2B meeting that those changing rooms only had to pack up their personal items but not their hanging items (it was suggested to put the personal items into their suitcases. The cabin steward would then transfer everything on one of the luggage carts with the clothes bars). The only issue of concern were valuables in the room safe. The passengers were told they were responsible for moving those items themselves. (It was asked if Guest Relations had a safe that passengers could use temporarily and the answer was no). We did hear several B2B passengers later say that their move was completed before they left the ship for an excursion around 8:30 am. Not sure if that was everyone's experience but I think they tried to expedite the B2B room moves as much as possible. The timing apparently depended on when the previous guests vacated the room. I believe all passengers were asked to be out of their cabins by 8:00 am (or it might have been 8:30 am). I believe the folks with the 8:30 am move had discussed the situation with their room steward the day before and that greased the skids.

I do not believe passengers were allowed access to their new rooms once everyone left the ship and the hallway doors were closed. However, those who got the early room move were able to go to the new room before they left (around 8:30 am as I mentioned above). I do not think that is the standard but only if you are lucky enough to have an early room move. There was a general announcement around 1:00 pm that all rooms were available.

We will be taking our first cruise on Celebrity this year, I was curious to know how the coffee is. We have found the quality of the coffee to be really bad on our last few cruises. On Princess the free coffee is terrible, but if you buy a coffee card you can find decent coffee. On Royal, coffee was still bad but not as bad as the free coffee on Princess. We ended up paying for our coffee at Starbucks in the morning. I was curious to know how my fellow coffee drinkers handle their coffee fix in the morning on Celebrity? Is the coffee any better?

In my opinion, the Lavazza coffee available in the Oceanview Cafe (and I assume in the main dining room) is much better than what was offered in the past. However, opinions on the quality of coffee often vary widely.

oPorters always get priority - at least that I've noticed. They will literally nudge people off to one side and push past them. Not just coming from a cruise but in most airports in the world. Should this be allowed - tough one but I bet they have a made a "special" deal and that is the way it works. Always pay for a porter and you too will be whisked to the front of the line.

At the airport in San Juan there is often a long taxi line (and hotels are not allowed to run shuttles). Since many cruisers arrive a day early, they must use a taxi for transport to their hotel. If you get a porter at baggage claim, they will by-pass the long taxi line and get you into a taxi right away. As Jane 2357 mentions, they must have a special deal with the agent who controls the taxis - and for the porters, time is money. If you don't like to stand in a long taxi line, this is the way to go - although it will cost you a nice tip. It also works nicely if you have not paid for a cruise airport transfer and are going directly to the pier.

I didn't have the lobster on formal night on the Reflection in January but my husband did. It was so tough it was inedible. Because we live on the East coast of Canada we are used to cold water lobster and the ones on a ship are not even lobster to us.

 

Sarah

Our lobster was OK but certainly not what you would get in Canada or in Maine. You are sooooo lucky!

Question....if we're dining in Blu and they serve lobster in the MDR, can I order that same lobster in Blu? If I remember correctly, doesn't the escargot become very limited in the early summer months? It is one of my favorites and I hope they serve the same escargot in Blu.

I do not know from personal experience but I have seen postings on CC that say you can order in Blu from the regular main dining room menu. I believe I also saw that you might have to let them know a day ahead. I assume this means that they have copies of the main dining room menu in Blu that you can peruse the day before. Ask them in Blu and I feel sure they will try to accommodate you.

For those of you who like lobster, the lobster tails served on the Summit on our recent B2B sailing were the largest I can ever remember, certainly in recent times. I believe they were only on the menu for the 2nd formal night of each week. You can order more than one of you choose.

Last year, escargot was off the menu altogether (or restricted) for a while but now it is back on the menu every evening. If you really like escargot, you can order more than one serving (but the garlic butter sauce is too rich for me to ever do that). However, one of our table mates ordered six portions one evening (and lived to tell about it). :-P

For those of you who have sailed recently I need to know if the Grand Brunch Buffet is still a thing or if they have eliminated it?

 

I am trying to plan a group activity, and need to know if they are still having the brunch buffet on one of the last sea days.

 

thanks.

Nope, not on the Summit on the 1/17/15 or 1/24/15 sailings. Also didn't see anything special in the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) on the last sea day as mentioned by others on their cruises.

Our turnaround day for our Summit B2B was 1/24/15. There were about 250 people doing the B2B. We met in the Rendezvous Lounge about 10:30 am and they checked to be sure that everyone whose name was on the B2B list was present. After that was done, we walked off the ship in a group to the empty customs hall.

 

After a few minutes of standing in line, we walked past the immigration/border security officer who looked at each passport (we had our transit pass available as well) and we immediately went back onto the ship during which time we were issued a new keycard for our room/charges. The entire process took about 45 minutes as I recall.

 

Since it was such a large group, we were all invited for a special luncheon in the main dining room. We had a special menu with a nice selection of luncheon items and the food was quite good. If you didn't want to do that, you could go to the buffet or, I assume, to the Bistro on Five. I think we were back on the ship about 11:30 am and went directly to the main dining room.

 

There was a meeting a day or two in advance for all persons doing the B2B to have the chance to ask questions and get a full explanation of the process for different scenarios: 1) going on a shore excursion and leaving early in the morning, 2) staying on the ship, 3) going off on your own, 4) changing rooms, 5) staying in the same room, etc. (They even had a separate meeting for German speaking passengers of which there were 60 doing the B2B).

 

Everything seemed to go smoothly (although we heard the week before there were problems). That seemed to be the reason they held a special meeting a day or two in advance, so that our B2B would go smoother. It was important to attend this meeting as they verified everyone who attended was on their B2B list. It turned out that some people were not on the list (no one knew why) and they had to be added. This was important because if you were not on the list, you were not issued a "transit pass".

 

About the time the luncheon was over, an announcement was made that the cabins were available which was about 1 pm. All in all, it was handled well as far as we were concerned.

 

Questions?

I also meant to say that I posted our experience to allow a comparison to the experience of Ladytaekwondo on her B2B. I am interested to see if there is consistency now with how this is handled as we have another B2B scheduled on the Summit.

Two questions:

How many outlets are there in the cabin?

Did you get actual soap or just shower gel?

 

Looking forward to your review!

We had two outlets for American style plugs and two outlets for European style plugs, on either side of the desktop in front of the mirror in the room. There were no outlets in the bathroom but that might have been because we were in a handicapped cabin. Someone else will have to answer for a standard cabin.

How was it handled? Did you have to disembark and reembark? Could you stay on the ship? Were you invited to lunch in a specialty testaurant? Each ship is different. Like to know how Summit handles it. I will be doing a pair of cruises. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Our turnaround day for our Summit B2B was 1/24/15. There were about 250 people doing the B2B. We met in the Rendezvous Lounge about 10:30 am and they checked to be sure that everyone whose name was on the B2B list was present. After that was done, we walked off the ship in a group to the empty customs hall.

After a few minutes of standing in line, we walked past the immigration/border security officer who looked at each passport (we had our transit pass available as well) and we immediately went back onto the ship during which time we were issued a new keycard for our room/charges. The entire process took about 45 minutes as I recall.

Since it was such a large group, we were all invited for a special luncheon in the main dining room. We had a special menu with a nice selection of luncheon items and the food was quite good. If you didn't want to do that, you could go to the buffet or, I assume, to the Bistro on Five. I think we were back on the ship about 11:30 am and went directly to the main dining room.

There was a meeting a day or two in advance for all persons doing the B2B to have the chance to ask questions and get a full explanation of the process for different scenarios: 1) going on a shore excursion and leaving early in the morning, 2) staying on the ship, 3) going off on your own, 4) changing rooms, 5) staying in the same room, etc. (They even had a separate meeting for German speaking passengers of which there were 60 doing the B2B).

Everything seemed to go smoothly (although we heard the week before there were problems). That seemed to be the reason they held a special meeting a day or two in advance, so that our B2B would go smoother. It was important to attend this meeting as they verified everyone who attended was on their B2B list. It turned out that some people were not on the list (no one knew why) and they had to be added. This was important because if you were not on the list, you were not issued a "transit pass".

About the time the luncheon was over, an announcement was made that the cabins were available which was about 1 pm. All in all, it was handled well as far as we were concerned.

Questions?

If you like formalwear then go ahead as you definitely won't be the only ones. However, I will admit the number of tuxes and fancy dresses on formal nights are slowly dwindling. Maybe the desire to reduce luggage and the trend in our society to more casual wear are the reasons. We don't care - we enjoy getting dressed up on formal nights - to each their own.

I am not a smoker but a friend will be on Summit this winter and wants to know where she will be allowed to smoke. I have told her no smoking is allowed on the balconies and the other smoking areas are few and far between. She has never cruised on Celebrity before. Where can she smoke?

We have disembarked many times in San Juan.

The attached post answers some of your questions but I would add a few additional comments:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41323155&postcount=7

1. If you are in a hurry to get to the airport, snag a porter for your luggage in the cruise terminal arrival hall. You will get through the customs/passport control line faster.

2. Travel to the airport in a taxi. The Celebrity transfer uses buses for passengers but transports the luggage in a separate truck. You will have to wait at the airport until the luggage truck arrives (multiple buses worth of luggage on the same truck) and then they unload it in a big pile and it takes a while to get the luggage sorted out. Also, it may not be immediately in front of the entrance to your terminal.

3. Again, get a porter for your luggage at the airport. They will get your luggage through the agricultural inspection more quickly and also expedite your check-in as they seem to have their own way to get you at/near the front of the check-in line.

The airport is only about 15-20 minutes driving time from the port.

We have not been to Pompeii or Herculaneum so we cannot comment on those tours. We have spent a day touring the Amalfi Coast, so I do have a few comments:

1. The Amalfi Coast towns going outbound from Sorrento in order are Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. The view from Ravello is spectacular on a nice day.

2. The traffic can be horrendous, especially going up to Ravello. A bus will have a difficult time getting around and you will waste a lot of time unless you go on a private tour in a van or car. We used Benvenuto Limos and were very pleased. http://www.benvenutolimos.com

3. There are a number of quaint restaurants with great views and wonderful food in Positano. A stop at one of these restaurants is usually part of a private tour.

4. More than likely a combined tour of the Amalfi Coast with Pompeii or Herculaneum will only include an abbreviated tour of the Amalfi Coast, perhaps only visiting Positano. However, you will get a taste of both the volcanic sites and the Amalfi Coast.

Below are a few photos of the Amalfi Coast on a day that was still cloudy after a major storm the prior evening.

A typical Amalfi Coast roadside produce stand

Views from Ravello

Town square at Ravello

Tower at Villa Rufolo in Ravello

View from Trattoria La Tagliata in Positano

None in Feb 2014

I was just wondering as many of you are long time multiple cruisers or even new cruisers what is the strangest thing you have lost or found on a cruise?

 

 

On a Celebrity cruise which disembarked in San Diego, I realized as we arrived at the airport that I had left my wife's very expensive jewelry in the room safe. Fortunately, she had a good attitude - "it's all insured" but I was not so cavalier.

After arriving back at the port 15 minutes later, the nice folks from Celebrity told me "hell would freeze over before I would be allowed back onto the ship". They suggested I just give them the combination and they would have housekeeping bring the valuables to me - "this happens almost every cruise and this is what we do". I didn't think that was such a good idea.

After about 30 minutes of my most persuasive salesmanship in talking with successively higher levels of ship's officers, they finally allowed the Head of Security to escort me back to the room. We went back through the crew exit onto the ship as the crew gawked. I opened the safe, retrieved the contents, and quickly was escorted off. Several of the Celebrity shore staff told me they had never seen anyone let back on the ship after disembarkation and wanted to know how I did it. I told them I begged.

Thankfully, I made it back to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I am now more careful about checking the safe. My wife also agreed to not take so many valuables.