Celebrity Summit Review (November 13-20, 2010)

[mathgeek1978]

Do you have a link for Pereria Tours? I tried to google it but could not find a website. Thanks!

[deladane]

Tuesday 11/16: Roseau, Dominica, in port 8am-5pm

 

For today, I had arranged a tour with Levi Baron of Bumpiing Tours. It cost $47 for a full-day group tour in an air-conditioned 15-seat van, including water, juice, and local beers. I met Levi right outside the port, and he introduced me to the tour guide/driver Gary. Gary was terrific! He answered all of our questions and he was funny and engaging at each stop of the tour. Dominica was my favorite island of the 5 ports I visited, mostly because of how much fun I had on this excursion! Here's the view of Roseau from atop deck 11:

 

 

First we drove up a huge mountain and made a brief stop at Morne Bruce to see the view of all of Roseau (we could even see down to the cruise ship!)

 

Then we continued up to Titou Gorge. Levi asked us to meet him super early so we would be the first group to arrive at Titou Gorge, and it's a good thing he did because we had the whole place to ourselves! I had read a few reviews that the water up there is freezing cold, but I honestly didn't think it was so bad, and I got used to it after a minute or two.

 

Here's a photo of me standing in the cold water (notice the flotation belt... no one was allowed in the water unless they wore one!)

 

We swam into the caves (where Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed!) and then had to swim against the current from a waterfall to reach a little alcove to stand on. Gary pulled people who weren't strong swimmers through the current with a life preserver on a rope. Then Gary gave us the option of climbing up a 6 foot waterfall to another pool of water where we could stand under a second waterfall to take pictures:

 

To get back down, we had to jump off that 6 foot waterfall. It was rather difficult to get my footing through the rushing current of the waterfall, but once I had my balance, the jump wasn't too hard. Once we swam back out of the gorge, there were a ton of other people arriving and I could see how crowded it must get there later in the day! We went back to our van, enjoyed some cold beers, and then drove off to Trafalgar falls.

 

To get to the falls, we had to walk through the rain forest for about 10 minutes along a dirt path, and climbed a bunch of steps too:

 

Along the way, Gary explained about different types of leaves and trees. Once we got to the viewing platform, we could see the two twin falls (also called the Mama and Papa falls) for a beautiful view and photo op:

[deladane]

Do you have a link for Pereria Tours? I tried to google it but could not find a website. Thanks!

 

 

Here ya go: http://lizpereirastourstore.shutterfly.com/

 

And her email address is: lizpereiratourstore@yahoo.com

 

She was fantastic to deal with and responded to all my emails right away. Tell her Dana says hi! :)

[Lois R]

Just want to say one more time, your pictures are wonderful:) and

glad you had such a great cruise:D

[hcat]

Excellent review & photos-- thanks for sharing them

 

We'll be in St Kitts & Dominica in January on our Equinox cruise.

[deladane]

Then Gary gave us the option to climb down a series of very slippery boulders into the hot springs. This was kind of dangerous but completely worth it as the water felt so nice and warm! We slid between some boulders, and continued climbing until we reached a calm pool of water, where Gary gave us time to swim and enjoy the sites.

 

These are the rocks we had to climb on in front of the falls:

 

Next, we climbed back up to the viewing platform and walked back down the stairs and trails to the van. We took a QUICK drive through the botanical gardens, took a quick photo with the bus squashed under a school bus:

 

and continued on to Champagne Reef for some snorkeling.

 

The shore near champagne reef was very rocky, so definitely wear water shoes if you have them! Once again, my snorkeling experience was spoiled by the rough current. Gary said it is usually very calm here, but we were rather unlucky as the current was rough and the water was quite cloudy so we didn't get the full effect of the bubbles.

 

After a long, but fun-filled day, Gary drove us back to the port, and we were back on the ship by 3pm. I took a nap, got ready for the evening, and then went up to the deck to watch the sunset with my nightly sushi snack.

 

[deladane]

Just want to say one more time, your pictures are wonderful:) and

glad you had such a great cruise:D

 

Thank you!! I tried hard to collect some good photos to share with all of you... With all the help you all gave me in preparing for my cruise, this is the least I could do in return!!

[deladane]

Tonight was the only time I missed the evening show. I was killing time by wandering around the ship, and as I passed through the martini bar, I ran into two ladies from my table, so I joined them and we talked for like 3 hours straight- right through the show! So my appologies that I can't review it, but I think it involved more singing and dancing haha After drinks, we headed into the MDR for dinner...

 

 

 

Shellfish and Saffron Risotto (yes, this is the exact same dish as I had for an entree the night before... but it was so good the first time, I couldn't resist ordering it again!):

 

French Onion Soup:

 

Rigatoni Bistecca:

 

Caramel Crepes:

[GeneD]

Deladane,

I am enjoying your descriptions of the cruise you were on and especially your pictures. What camera did you use? I was thinking your camera wouldn't survive the waterfall jump.

did the guide take a different way down with the camera so it didn't get ruined?

Gene

[srpilo]

Too Cool !!!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the effort, I'm really enjoying it :)

Srpilo

[cruiseacecat]

I just cannot get over your pics. They are outstanding!!

I am assuming you did not bring your "spotlight" home, so would you mind telling me who were in the following positions: Captain, Cruise Director, Hotel Manager, and Captains Club Hostess.

Thanks, and please keep it coming. :)

 

Anne

[deladane]

Deladane,

I am enjoying your descriptions of the cruise you were on and especially your pictures. What camera did you use? I was thinking your camera wouldn't survive the waterfall jump.

did the guide take a different way down with the camera so it didn't get ruined?

Gene

 

The only time anyone besides me held my camera was to take that few photos of me in the water. The rest of the time (including all of the swimming and hiking and jumping), I had the camera wrapped around my wrist. I bought a separate 5MP digital camera that came with an underwater case specifically fitted for it- I think it is an Optiz DC-123. It was about $50 on amazon.com, including the 2GB SD memory card. I didn't know how the pictures would come out, but figured it was fairly inexpensive and more convenient than a disposable underwater camera, so it was worth a shot. Turns out, I LOVED it and was so happy I bought it because the screen let me see when pictures came out blurry (about a quarter of the pictures had to be retaken), and I was able to capture memories of the trip that few of my fellow cruisers could get (wait until I go snorkeling in Tobago later on in the review!) Of the photos I posted so far, the ones in port in St. Croix and Dominica were all on the underwater digital camera.

 

The photos in port in St. Kitts, and all of the food photos, were taken on my pocket sized point-and-shoot Canon digital camera (PowerShot SD780 IS).

[librarylady19]

Awesome review and photos. We are on this same itinerary in two weeks and are booked with Levi for the Roseau Valley Tour. I can see why he cautions that you should be in good shape (I work out 3 times a week and am in pretty good shape for a 51yo but still.....)

 

The Taste of Summit sushi demo looked intriguing; DH loves sushi. Was it free and open to anyone?

 

Keep your review and photos coming.....Counting the days till we leave!

[deladane]

Awesome review and photos. We are on this same itinerary in two weeks and are booked with Levi for the Roseau Valley Tour. I can see why he cautions that you should be in good shape (I work out 3 times a week and am in pretty good shape for a 51yo but still.....)

 

The Taste of Summit sushi demo looked intriguing; DH loves sushi. Was it free and open to anyone?

 

Keep your review and photos coming.....Counting the days till we leave!

 

 

oh, how I miss the excitement of the days leading up to the cruise! It'll be here before you know it :)

 

Taste of Summit was free and open to everyone... I think there were about 20 people there the day I went (not a huge turnout at all!). Later in the week, Darwin did another sushi demonstration where he made the same rolls as at Taste of Summit, but it was just him without the guys from Normandie, so you have two chances to catch the sushi demo :) Darwin was great... he definitely knew me by the end of the week because on the last night, he offered me a huge plate of sashimi so I didn't "have to waste calories on the rice" HAHA I guess he knows what's really important!

[deladane]

I just cannot get over your pics. They are outstanding!!

I am assuming you did not bring your "spotlight" home, so would you mind telling me who were in the following positions: Captain, Cruise Director, Hotel Manager, and Captains Club Hostess.

Thanks, and please keep it coming. :)

 

Anne

 

I have that info somewhere, but I put the papers away so I have to find them... I'll let you know by the end of the weekend :)

[deladane]

I realized I left out the view of the main part of my cabin...

 

[mathgeek1978]

In most sushi buffet restaurants, even the good ones, they give you a BIG piece of rice and a small piece of fish. Celebrity gives you a small piece of rice and a good size piece of fish. That's great. And if you get a sashimi plate, that's awesome!

 

Thanks again for taking the time to do this. I'm sure many many of us do appreciate this.

[Kruz Guys]

Disclaimer about the waffles: it is DEFINITELY worth your time to wait for them to make you a fresh waffle right off the grill. The one day I was in a rush and just grabbed the ones that were already sitting in the bin, it was hard and cold... no good!

 

Thanks for sharing your great adventure and the pictures. Sounds like a wonderful cruise. We will be on the same on Dec 11th.

 

By the way, do you happen to recall when the ship held its Muster Drill the first day? Tom and I are trying to make a few plans for the first day on the ship and it would be very helpful if we knew when Muster drill was held.

 

Again, thanks for the great view and the pictues.

 

Kruz Guys

Stephen and Tom

stephenandtom@att.net :D

[A Sixth?]

Darn! those food shots are making me hungry! Thanks.:D

[Lois R]

Darn! those food shots are making me hungry! Thanks.:D

 

Hi Donald, I agree:)...actually her pictures are wanting me to book

Summit again:D

[Texed]

Darn! those food shots are making me hungry! Thanks.:D

 

Ditto! :)

[deladane]

Thanks for sharing your great adventure and the pictures. Sounds like a wonderful cruise. We will be on the same on Dec 11th.

 

By the way, do you happen to recall when the ship held its Muster Drill the first day? Tom and I are trying to make a few plans for the first day on the ship and it would be very helpful if we knew when Muster drill was held.

 

Again, thanks for the great view and the pictues.

 

Kruz Guys

Stephen and Tom

stephenandtom@att.net :D

 

 

Ooops, sorry I forgot to mention Muster! It was at 5:15pm, which is a little odd considering the official all aboard isn't until like 7pm haha I think it lasted until around 6pm, because they had to repeat everything in both English and Spanish, but on the bright side- they don't make you bring your life vests with you :)

[Kruz Guys]

Ooops, sorry I forgot to mention Muster! It was at 5:15pm, which is a little odd considering the official all aboard isn't until like 7pm haha I think it lasted until around 6pm, because they had to repeat everything in both English and Spanish, but on the bright side- they don't make you bring your life vests with you :)

 

 

Thanks. Just curious becase my travel companion has a spa treatment schedule at 5:00pm. I wonder why they would schedule an appointment during muster drill. I guess I will try to call the cruise line.

 

Thanks for your information.

 

:D

[deladane]

Wednesday 11/17: St. George's, Grenada, in port from 8am-5pm

 

After two action-packed excursion days, I made this day a little more low-key. I slept in a little later, and then headed to the MDR for breakfast. I was a little overwhelmed by the service, as I literally had 8 waiters serving me! One for the water, one for the juice, one for coffee/tea, one serving pastries/danishes... I couldn't keep them all straight! The menu basically offered the same things you can get a the buffet, only in the MDR they serve it to you so you don't have to wait on line.

 

 

 

 

I got off the ship at around 10am and walked over to the water taxi pier (immediately left of where the ship is docked). $8 round trip gets you from the ship to Grand Anse Beach. This is the water taxi pier on the beach:

 

 

Grand Anse Beach is a two-mile strech of beach. It is pretty, with a few palm trees lining the shore, and you can rent chairs and umbrellas for a few dollars.

 

[deladane]

A little ways down the beach is a big open stall spice market, where vendors sell little wicker baskets with samples of various spices, bottles of vanilla, scented soaps, jams/jellies, and lots of other souvenirs. Some of the vendors can be a little pushy, but if you are good at bargaining, you can get a few dollars off their asking prices.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, it was pouring rain for most of the morning (as you can probably see in the photo above), and when it finally cleared up around noon, I was tired of being there and just wanted to go back to the ship. So I headed back to the ship around 1 and had a late lunch at the Aqua Spa Cafe. I wish I had discovered this place earlier in the week, as the food is great, and much lighter than the dishes they serve at the buffet. I had a grilled calamari salad with artichokes, and whole wheat penne pasta with marinara sauce and sauteed veggies:

 

 

After lunch, I went back off the ship to do some shopping at the port. They have a big indoor shopping mall with duty free shops, jewelry stores, clothing stores, and places to buy any souvenir you might want. I had already done most of my shopping at the spice market, but it was good to see the prices. In general, it was cheaper at the market on the beach (especially since you can bargain with those vendors). The port mall also offers free wifi so I used my cell phone to check my email for a few minutes. Then back onto the ship for sushi and to get ready for the evening.

 

Tonight's show was an hour-long concert by Lindsay Hamilton. She has starred in London's West End productions of Les Mis and Evita, and I thought she was an amazing singer! She sang mostly ballads from Broadway musicals, but she also spoke a bit between the songs, making jokes and talking to the audience. If you get the chance to see her perform, don't miss it!