Southern Caribbean on either the Celebrity , Jewel or Adventure?

[NOSaints1]

My DW and I are going on Carnival out of San Juan in Nov. My question is on the Summitt, what's the food like, entertainment, service things to do for people in their mid 30s, if you also sailed Royal on Jewel or Adventure that would be great thanks and how does Choice air work, can you add the airfare to your booking and pay as you go.

 

 

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[Clarea]

Choice Air flights have to be paid in full at the time you make the flight reservations.

[welshrich]

Hi, we did a b2b on the Jewel, she is a great ship, lots of sea views everywhere, very port intensive so we did not see most of the shows, only time she felt crowded was on the one port day when the pool area was really busy. MDR was nice for breakfast and Dinner and WJ was fine for lunch.

[cruiseguy1016]

I've never been on Celebrity so I can't comment on that. I have been on Adventure and two of Jewel's sister ships. Adventure is a larger ship and has more to offer. The Royal Promenade is a great place to hang out and relax. They also have the skating rink where you will be bale to watch an ice show. The Jewel is smaller and more intimate, not as much hustle and bustle as the Adventure. If you're looking for more entertainment opportunities and a "busier" ship, I would recommend the Adventure. If you want a more peaceful, relaxing cruise, I recommend the Jewel.

[DonRobertoSanJuan]

Royal Caribbean's cruise quality has deteriorated to a level comparable to the airlines. Pay for steaks and even soft drinks and all around mediocre service. Celebrity (owned by RCL) sticks out head and shoulders over Royal.

[KristyM79]

Celebrity definitely has better service, food, etc., but I can't tell you anything about the Summit. I have not been on the Adventure, but it's similar to Explorer and Voyager. I do like the Voyager class ships, but the Jewel is beautiful as well, reminiscent of the traditional ocean liners. If I had to choose, I would probably go with the Adventure because my husband prefers the Royal Promenade with options of activities/bars/shops over the layout of the Jewel.

[DonnaK]

I've been on all three of those ships.

 

We really didn't like our cruise Jewel. While she's a gorgeous ship, very classy with wonderful sea views, she was also a very boring ship. Service was not up to par, and if you are someone who enjoys the entertainment and shows, you will be terribly disappointed because they are absolutely awful on this ship.

 

We really loved Adventure, but that was 10 years ago, so I cannot comment on the condition of the ship now.

 

We were on Summit last summer, and have another cruise booked on her for August (Bermuda itinerary). It was one of our very favorite cruises - so much fun! (Even my daughters who are in their early 20s thought so). This ship has a very high level of service, and outstanding entertainment! We were totally blown away by the high quality of live entertainment all over the ship! The only area where we felt Summit fell short was the buffet - variety, layout and availability. They recently revamped it, however they are still working out the kinks, so it remains to be seen if it has improved. They had real ice cream available in the buffet, not the self-serve fro-yo stuff (I couldn't get enough of the Cinnamon ice cream).

 

Given those choices, I would rank them Summit, Adventure, Jewel. Obviously, entertainment is very important to us - if you don't care so much about entertainment, then you may feel otherwise.

[NOSaints1]

Anyone know can you book Celebrity in CDN dollars, I know you can for Royal.

 

 

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[Miss Vickie]

We've been on all 3, our least favorite was Summit. We found the food and service underwhelming, to say the least, and the shows boring. The ship basically seemed to go to sleep after 9 pm. We loved Jewel, although we didn't find the food to be great. We have 4 more cruises currently booked on Jewel - did a b2b this year, have the same booked for 2015 and 2016.

[NOSaints1]

So if your in your mid 30 s which is the best ship for that age range. We're going to st thomas, st kitts , st Maarten , Barbados and st lucia. Does the Jewel have Coke freestyle? Do you have to dress up on celebrity ?

 

 

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[Clarea]

So if your in your mid 30 s which is the best ship for that age range. We're going to st thomas, st kitts , st Maarten , Barbados and st lucia. Does the Jewel have Coke freestyle? Do you have to dress up on celebrity ?

Jewel has the Coke Freestyle machines, Adventure does not.

[Captain Jake]

Celebrity's Casino is smoke free

[DonnaK]

So if your in your mid 30 s which is the best ship for that age range. We're going to st thomas, st kitts , st Maarten , Barbados and st lucia. Does the Jewel have Coke freestyle? Do you have to dress up on celebrity ?

 

 

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Not any more than you would dress up on RCI.

[judatt]

We have found that a lot depends on you. Some people really like one particular brand or one particular ship. Some people hate a particular brand or a particular ship. It all depends on your tastes.

 

Our daughter and her family love Carnival and we have been with them a couple of times. We enjoyed both cruises.

 

We have been on one NCL, 2 Carnival and a multitude of Celebrity including the Summit 3 times. Just as the person earlier in the thread said the Summit was terrible and had poor service, we have found that we love sailing on her and have found the service to be great. I think it all depends on what happens to you in particular on any specific cruise.

 

We'd go back to the Summit in a heart beat. We are getting ready for our first cruise on RCCL on the FOS in August. We'll have kids and grandkids with us and I can't imagine it will be a bad cruise no matter how bad it gets! Most cruises are what you make of them.

 

I would say that you will tend to find a bit older crowd on Celebrity. Of our 3 cruises on the Summit, 2 have been in early December out of San Juan and you don't get many kids on that route since school is in session. There were some however - I think with home schooling these days you get more year round. Our other cruise on the Summit was in July to Bermuda. Lots of kids. We enjoyed all 3.

 

Do your research and make your selection and go and be prepared to have a great time regardless of what happens.

[OTownNick]

It's amazing how different people have different ratings on the same ships. We've been on all 3 ships out of San Juan and loved each one. The Jewel seemed to have better itineraries than the other 2. I do love the Royal Promenade though on the Adventure. If doing the southern route for first time and teens are coming, I would definitely recommend Adventure. If you're looking for more quiet, up-scale and don't want a lot of crazy stuff going on, then the Summit is the one. If you're solely wanting to go to certain places, Jewel goes to some places the others don't go and I would say choose Jewel.

 

All 3 were very very good ships all the way around. Summit did have more elegance, fabulous service, and menu items you don't get on RCL.

[NOSaints1]

Is the Aqua class worth the extra money and what do you get with it?

 

 

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[retird]

My DW and I are going on Carnival out of San Juan in Nov. My question is on the Summitt, what's the food like, entertainment, service things to do for people in their mid 30s, if you also sailed Royal on Jewel or Adventure that would be great thanks and how does Choice air work, can you add the airfare to your booking and pay as you go.

 

 

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Im confused , you are asking about celebrity and RCCL but you are travelling on Carnival Cruise lines??

[Clarea]

Is the Aqua class worth the extra money and what do you get with it?

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard-celebrity/staterooms-aqua-class-stateroom

[CRUISEFAN0001]

We have found that a lot depends on you. Some people really like one particular brand or one particular ship. Some people hate a particular brand or a particular ship. It all depends on your tastes.

Very true.

It's amazing how different people have different ratings on the same ships. We've been on all 3 ships out of San Juan and loved each one.

In some ways it's surprising, in other ways not. People clearly have different tastes, expectations, and levels of satisfaction when it comes to cruises. We all know that there are some folks who simply cannot be satisfied, while most enjoy all that cruising has to offer.

 

We took the same cruise out of San Juan 4 years apart on the same ship and even in the same cabin. Both were stellar on Adventure of the Seas.

[NOSaints1]

We're sailing Carnival, but the reason why is cause those two cruiselines go where Carnival doesn't out if San Juan and we like to book at least a year out, so I like to have all the information when we book in the next couple of months. Plus with Royal you can book and pay in CDN dollars, which helps out a lot.

 

 

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[luvtravel88]

Is the Aqua class worth the extra money and what do you get with it?

 

 

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We didn't feel aqua class was worth the extra money. We chose aqua class on an Alaska cruise that we took 9 years ago. At the time you got a small plate of canapés before dinner each night, a sprig of fresh flowers in a small vase and a pillow selection. I seem to remember an "upscale " shower head and thicker bathrobes.

If you are trying to earn credits faster in order to move up in the rewards program, you do get additional credits when you are in aqua class, but of course you have paid more as well.

[NOSaints1]

Do you get a bathtub in these staterooms?

 

 

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[Clarea]

Do you get a bathtub in these staterooms?

If you're asking about Royal, you need a Junior Suite or better to have a bathtub.

 

It does not appear that Aqua Class on Summit has a bathtub.

Edited July 5, 2014 by clarea

[setsail]

So if your in your mid 30 s which is the best ship for that age range. We're going to st thomas, st kitts , st Maarten , Barbados and st lucia. Does the Jewel have Coke freestyle? Do you have to dress up on celebrity ?

 

 

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My son/dil have sailed on 4 mainstream lines over their 30's (40 now) and they have always come back to rci. This fall they are sailing ncl. I would say their least favorite was X and Holland as younger adults and rci their fav

Edited July 5, 2014 by setsail

[DonnaK]

We didn't feel aqua class was worth the extra money. We chose aqua class on an Alaska cruise that we took 9 years ago. At the time you got a small plate of canapés before dinner each night, a sprig of fresh flowers in a small vase and a pillow selection. I seem to remember an "upscale " shower head and thicker bathrobes.

If you are trying to earn credits faster in order to move up in the rewards program, you do get additional credits when you are in aqua class, but of course you have paid more as well.

 

 

On Summit, Aqua Class eats in Blu restaurant, which is more intimate and upscale dining than the MDR, and is "anytime".