snyniew

Hi all! We're going on our first cruise in 2 weeks and I was curious as to if anyone knows how bad the violence/beggars are in the Caribbean. We are going to St. Kitts, St. Marteen, Dominica, Antigua, and Tortola.

I've been to all those ports (solo most times) and never had a problem. I would disagree w/ the other poster who told you to stick w/ ship excursions for your first time. Just make sure you do your research on her on the Ports of Call boards and on Trip Advisor.

For Dominica I would highly recommend booking a tour w/ Levi Barron w/ Bumpiing Tours, one of the best tours I've taken. Tortola if you like snorkeling I would go w/ Kuralu for an all day sail. St. Kitts if looking for just a beach day look into Carambola Beach Club.

I took my niece last March on Celebrity and she was 18 and didn't need any extra documentation. Just showed her passport and we were all set.

Someone posted earlier this week about an Online Cruise Travel agent they use where they are giving all perks for Oceanview and up. The post has been deleted because they used the name of the TA which you can't do here. But if you google Cruise Outlet you can find it (my search it was the 4 one down) and starts w/ a C.

I also agree that on a S class ship choosing a Concierge cabin isn't worth it unless you really like the location or if it's the same price as a regular balcony.

I am not much of a swimmer, and we are doing this excursion next month. Do they give you life jackets to use, or some type of floating device? I am nervous about this part, and may just skip it all together, but would still like to join in. My DH is a very good swimmer.

Yes, Bumpiing has the devices that go around your waist that they have everyone wear even if you are a strong swimmer.

I'ts pretty much location however they do list some advantages which are mostly on paper. There is the welcome sparkling wine, footstools on the veranda, priority check-in (doesn't really mean much), daily canape (if you remember to fill out the card but not really worth it IMO), Different tote bag than regular veranda, oceanview or inside cabins get, Welcome aboard lunch in MDR. There may be a few other things they list on the website if you look at staterooms but I've never used them.

Because people ask me all the time (we cruise out of San Juan a lot) when sailing out and back to San Juan, where the age is 18, and cruising the Caribbean what is Celebrity's policy?

When going out of San Juan they stick to the US legal age since it's a US territory so the drinking age is 21. I asked if they would allow me to sign a waiver and the answer was no. This was last March when my niece who was 18 was sailing with me. They are allowed to drink in all the ports but not on the ship.

So maybe I missed it but was there truly a outbreak of noro virus on Summit or were just a few people sick from flu or food? Not sure what Im reading is truly noro virus and ships crew taking precautionary measures by cleaning..ive hard comments such as wading through vomit and so on which sickens me..

Again was anybody actually on Summit?

I was on the Summit on the Dec 10th cruise when the issues started to come up. They never said it was Noro but I've never been given a questionnaire at the end or even during a cruise asking if anyone in the cabin had gastrointestinal issues. I know they were taking much more precautions at the end of the cruise and heard of a few passengers being quarantined. I think it was the next cruise that was hit harder by it. But I don't think they ever said officially it was Noro, maybe they don't have to disclose that until a certain percentage of passengers have it.

I just remembered that there were these hand washing machines in the Lido restaurant that were neat but took a minute or so to walk and dry. They were sometimes not working and I loved the knuckleheads would throw paper towels or other garbage in them.

They don't have that on the Summit. Bathrooms close by to wash your hands and just Purell dispensers and staff w/ Purell upon entering.

I was on the Dec 10th sailing and at the end of the week they were on more of a watch for Noro and gave out a questionnaire on the last day asking if anyone in the cabin had gastrointestinal issues. I did notice the last two days when going back to my cabin at 3:30/4 am that they were spraying down the stairways and common areas. I did talk to someone who's daughter was quarantined due to issues.

I've read on other threads that the next sailing had a bigger issue with this. Hopefully they've done a deep cleaning and have the issue resolved before your cruise.

We were on the same ship. I don't know who the OP is but I can say we had similar experiences on this same Summit, same sailing. One of our cupboard doors snapped in half when I opened it.

I am not a picky person. I used to run an orphanage in Africa so I have pretty easy going, laid back standards and consider cruising to be one of the nicest ways to travel. I feel very lucky to be able to afford a cruise however, I have to say, we were quite disappointed in almost every aspect of this cruise (3rd time on the Summit). At times it felt like we were on a very different type of vessel.

We did not witness the vomiting but we stayed in our room as much as possible to avoid any illness but the strangeness of the entire experience was very different. A little better communication would have been appreciated, other than reminding us that washing our hands prevents illness and to report to sick bay if we experienced any symptoms. The ominous spraying of hallways and wearing of masks and gloves by the staff was all very eery and left travelers with a bad taste. pardon the pun

As someone who was on the week prior I would have to say that the outbreak of Noro was the culprit for the change in service from in the past. I had nothing but great service my entire week. However if the room stewards and other staff were busy trying to keep Noro from spreading even further this would affect the service. Also it's quite possible some of the staff got it as well so they could have been short staffed.

As for the maintenance things on an older ship are bound to break. You're pointing out things that may break when they were probably busy dealing w/ the Noro outbreak wasn't a top priority as keeping everything clean. I did see them spraying down the halls and stairways on our sailing but that usually was at 3:30/4 am when I was going back to my room after dancing all night.

I would give them another chance as Noro isn't something they can control and are just trying to play catch-up and keep it from spreading to other passengers. Passengers are really to blame when there is a Noro outbreak, unfortunately for you it began our our sailing but you had the greatest affect from it.

So did we, three weeks ago on Summit.

I didn't use the shampoo but my conditioner was always restocked.

If I was going to fly in the day of this is the place that I'd do it. With a direct flight and arrival at 2:30 I'd say you should be good. I know plenty of people who did that on our December cruise and had no issues.

I was on the Summit the week before. There was an issue w/ some passengers being sick and they handed out a questionnaire on the last day to see if anyone in the cabin had an issue. I did see the crew spraying down the halls & stairways in the middle of the night so maybe a deeper cleaning after passengers disembarked in the morning caused slightly longer lines for the next sailing.

However I found once we got thru the doors everything else went rather quickly and I was onboard w/ a drink in my hand within 10 minutes. I never had a problem w/ the service, food or anything else on the ship. They did have people coming around the pool asking if you needed a drink more this sailing than what I've seen before on my previous sailings on the Summit. And if not there are plenty of bars where you can go up to yourself and get a drink. Taking a few extra steps while on a cruise isn't always a bad thing, work off some of the food and drink you are consuming.

Maybe I set my standards too low but when I'm on vacation it would have to be some sort of a disaster for me have a bad time.

I tried to do that on my last night on the Summit last March. While I was told it was possible it couldn't be done that late into the cruise (it was about 10 pm on the final night). Since it was non-refundable I had to spend it or lose it. Oh well, shopping spree at the last minute. So if this is something you want to do just don't wait until the last night to make this request.

I'm not sure about the Dine Aware program but my niece went with me in March on the Summit and is gluten intolerant. We just contacted Celebrity Special Needs department prior to boarding. Once on board we checked w/ the MDR and they had it noted on her reservation. Each night the Maitre D came over w/ the menu for the next night so she could make her selections and they would prepare gluten-free if possible. We had a wonderful experience even w/o this new program.

The OP asked for a place with a good rum library, not tequila. And something more of a local's place. With a name like Greengos, I'm a little wary of that ;) It's a small chain - the other one is on St. Thomas.

It still has a small local atmosphere. It's a bar so I'm sure they also have rum. Just because there is one other location doesn't mean it's a "chain". By no way is it a senior frogs or anything like that. If you've not been there you have no idea. Just giving another option from someone who's been to OSJ & enjoyed it.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Try Greengos. Great place, good food and great margarita's and a huge tequila list. One of our favorite places to go last March.

I do buy insurance. However you might not need to use it. It's still over 30 days out and if just a torn ACL or MCL she can probably still go. Just might not be able to do as many of the excursions/activities as before.

My niece who whet w/ me this March has had 3 ACL repairs and had a meniscus repaired 2 weeks before we sailed and did fine. She asked the steward for a bag of ice each night and look it easy on some of the excursions. She actually played a full season of ice hockey w/ a torn ACL before she had her 3rd repair. It's not the end of the world but may not be quite as enjoyable for your daughter as she'll have to be more careful and possibly not as mobile but not the end of the world.

I was on the summit repo and had the classic package I was able to get. Small Appletini and cosmos at the martini bar.

Maybe it depends on the bartender. In March a couple of guys tried to order one & the bartender said they needed to upgrade or go to another bar for the smaller version.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I have not heard that the classic package would work at the Martini Bar, at least not recently. Must be something new or a one-off?

It works if you order just mixed drinks or wine. If you try to order a martini in a smaller size they will send you to another bar.

I took my two nieces this year (18 & 22) on the Summit this past March. Of course this was their first cruise & only 1 sea day but they had a blast. We were out dancing every night until 2am. In January you may have a slightly older crowd but we got plenty of the ones people may not think would like to dance out on the dance floor. Can't judge people by their age, it's just a number. Just because their age is increased doesn't mean they don't like to let loose & have fun.

Now the 22year old got engaged this summer & wants to do a cruise for their honeymoon & would prefer Celebrity over some of the others geared for younger crowds due to the slightly smaller ships, food (she is gluten free & loved their attention to detail), not crowded but still able to dance & have fun. Loved the martini bar & her first experience drinking a martini.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

In March we arrived at the port at about 10:30 and waited in line until about 11 am. Quick check-in and onboard eating lunch by 11:30.

I'm also on the Dec 10 sailing and plan on arriving at the port around 11 am.

I would keep the bigger balcony as the perks of concierge aren't really enough to make the change IMO. I was in concierge last March on the Summit and other than the 1st day didn't have the afternoon canapes and didn't drink the sparkling wine provided. My nieces ate the fruit daily but you can get that at the buffet if you want that.

Since the Summit leaves Puerto Rico at 8:30pm, does anyone know what time muster drill is? Trying to coordinate dinner plans for the first night. Thank you!

I believe it was around 7:30/45

yes, i learned all about what cabins to book on cruise critic boards. now, this is the first time i have been to far forward. we will see how that will be, whether i will like it. so, what are the issues with a forward cain?

Are you in 8142 or 8042? There is quite a difference. If you are 8142 as originally stated you are in the AFT by the stairs. It will be nice as it's a quick 2 flights up to the Oceanview Cafe and Sunset bar or down a few to the dining rooms. If it's 8042 then you are forward by the stairs and as others have stated a quick few flights up to the gym and solarium or a few flights down to the theater.