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currently on Summit Dec 6 b2b

hulamoon

By hulamoon,
in Celebrity Cruises

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hulamoon

hulamoon

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Thank goodness for St Thomas and getting to go off ships Internet! Yeah!

 

I did not attend the MUTS unfortunately, it rained and got windy and we couldn't find it! So went to bed instead. The bartender at Sunset said he thought they would move it in the rain anyway which would not have the same feel. He told us they sporadically have movies. From the description it sounds like it is over the AQ cabins but we saw the equipment being hauled out The Qsine door toward the pool.

 

I don't think I would stay onboard for b2b again. It wasn't awful but who wants to stand In a line worse than any boarding experience I ever had? Lunch in Cosmopolitan is not enough incentive! Lol

 

Had a great experience with turtles this morning. I will list all the tours we took and when I have more time. Maybe tomorrow at the airport.

 

I also saw reviews said that there was no smoking in the sunset bar. There are cigars at least being smoked out there on the port side.

More later..,

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hulamoon

hulamoon

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Back from acupuncture...love Juliane. They also took our key card from first sailing. We were told there is a new policy to destroy them. I have kept them until now.

 

We travel eight knots to San Juan, will arrive about 4:45 and people can get off around six. We are taking a tour before the our afternoon flight.

 

The food and service are better than my last two sailings. The wine stewards are back and everyone wants my drink order. Ice teas take some time but anything on a drink package is quick.

 

Blu was good in April, but the staff was rushed. This time the staff was as good as it ever was. The last supper will be in Normandie.

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DiamondSuiteCruiser

DiamondSuiteCruiser

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Hi Diamond thanks for chiming in - I recall you were also concerned about this.

 

Assuming your AC was good at night also?

 

After reading your review I was really concerned, but the a/c was great. We have a portable travel clock that we travel with, and it also has the temp on it. Our bedroom in 6148 at night was always cold, between 65 -68 degrees (which is the way we like it to sleep). No worries in booking either PH suite.

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need2bespoiled

need2bespoiled

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Had they gotten rid of the wine sommeliers in the main dining room? Your comment about bringing the wine stewards back gave me concern.

Thanks :)

 

We've been cruising regularly on X for a couple of years and always had a sommelier in the MDR and other restaurants, though service has varied based on who it was. Apparently, drink servers were eliminated, making it harder for the sommeliers, but it looks like assistant waiters are doing some of that work and staffing is such that all has worked out, at least it had on our cruise earlier this month. We've never had too much of a problem getting a drink or wine.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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C 2 C

C 2 C

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They also took our key card from first sailing. We were told there is a new policy to destroy them. I have kept them until now.

 

Summit seems to have rules of their own. On our B2B cruises in Asia our cards were collected at turn around and returned several days later. On Reflection last week our cards were not taken from us.

 

If I found out that they were taking cards away I would "lose" my card and have another made. I want proof of every cruise on which I have sailed.

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richsea

richsea

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Summit seems to have rules of their own. On our B2B cruises in Asia our cards were collected at turn around and returned several days later. On Reflection last week our cards were not taken from us.

 

If I found out that they were taking cards away I would "lose" my card and have another made. I want proof of every cruise on which I have sailed.

 

Wow Arno, you must have a room full of them! Like you, I'm a bit of a pack rat with cruise cards& paperwork.

Bet I need a lot less space my mine than you do!:D

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junetraveler2014

junetraveler2014

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All of the suites we saw last week on Summit were in good shape. The only exception was a small area of our teak decking that had a leak and buckled a little when it rained at night. Dried out and settle down during the day. Xmas tree in entry was not expect. Understand that some suites did not get flowers until later in the week, but the roses and plant were in ours and still looked good last day.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Could we ask, What Suite you were in? We can not wait for spring!

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hulamoon

hulamoon

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It was easy to get a drink anywhere we were on the ship. On the last day Lisa had a copy of my destroyed card given to me. You are right Arno, the best way to not trouble anyone is to have a replacement card made.

 

Almost home!

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need2bespoiled

need2bespoiled

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Diamond, JCPC and anyone who was in 6148.

 

Can you describe the butler's pantry please? IN 6147 there is a full size fridge and microwave. How is it in 6148? Thanks

 

I've been in the butlers pantry on 6148 on Summit. Full size fridge, microwave, cupboards, basically like a small galley kitchen.

 

I think the two penthouses are mirror images and they're the same on all of the M-Class ships.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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jcpc

jcpc

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JEDIKNIGHT,

 

Jenna is correct - the butler's pantry in 6147 and 6148 are exactly the same. Interesting fact, though, is that since Celebrity changed all their dishes, the dishes that they serve breakfast on do NOT fit into the microwave. We had to remove the breakfast from the large dish and place items one by one on the coffee cup saucer if we wanted to heat our breakfast up!

 

Not a big deal to me, but odd that they don't replace the microwave with one that will fit the dishes!

 

Janice

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need2bespoiled

need2bespoiled

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Thanks for replies, Jenna and Janice.

 

That pantry is perhaps the best thing about the PH to us, especially with 2 young kids.

 

In other news, can't wait to hear details about the new suite restaurant.

 

We're sailing on Summit 4/4 so unless it launches early, we'll try and report on the new restaurant.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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need2bespoiled

need2bespoiled

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That's wonderful - especially that you can plan that far in advance.

 

At best, I can do it 2-3 months in advance. Once - we did a Caribbean cruise and booked 6 days before it set sail.

 

Sometimes you can find a suite that close in, in the slower months, but more and more they seem to be booking further out, it may get tougher and tougher, though if they raise prices it may temper demand.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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hulamoon

hulamoon

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The Ship

The first time I considered the M Class our travel agent suggested we consider the S class instead. This was before the Solsticization. Numerous times we spoke to people who also advised us to stick to newer ships no matter what, and we have, until this trip. Internet pictures are often not dated and I think what we found online to look at did not represent the cabins all that well.

 

We were pleasantly surprised at the public areas on the Summit, some we felt were roomier than S class ships. We liked the feel of Al Bacio, Qsine and Normandie better on the Summit than on S class. The Sunset bar is beautiful, the theater is also lovely. There were large empty spaces on deck three. We found some of the flooring on deck six soft and tripped occasionally when walking. The carpet was fresh everywhere we went and we found the ship in better shape than we expected. We would not hesitate to book the Summit again.

 

Cabin

Our cabin was 6140 a Royal Suite and our first in that category. The cabin exceeded our expectations for roominess, storage, and the possibility of sitting in a Jacuzzi on the balcony. An experience i was thrilled to try. The dining room made eating in a joy. While we had a nice table on the balcony it was often too hot after the sun came up to eat there. The furniture was in good shape as well as the carpet.

 

There was a picture in the bathroom that I learned later was a night light. The bathroom had a stale odor at times and couple of moments the last day it smelled sewer like. I learned later this is easily remedied. There was a large empty wall where a picture hangs in other cabins.

 

The downside to our cabin was our neighbor had an infant and nursed at four am each morning on the balcony with the lights on. Probably because of the jacuzzi the lights out there are bright, when the neighbors are turned on I could read by it in the middle of the night, by there light alone. We asked if another less bright option could be provided or if one of the lights could be disabled. None of these options were workable so on day four our butler began by taping a towel over the bedroom porthole, taping the curtains to the wall and taking the bed cover and taping to the bottom on the curtains. This completely blacked out the light although it was unsightly, and it was taken down after the second evening of use. Usually light does not bother me, but this was so bright i thought is was midmorning each time that light was turned on.

 

The room seemed completely sound proof from our neighbors. Due to the light however, I might try one adjacent to a different cabin category next time.

 

We had access to Michael’s Club which is beautiful room with private premium bar and intimate entertainment and presentations. We enjoyed it very much.

 

Food

We ate in Normandie, Blu and the Cosmopolitan. We found them all very good. Normandie had changed a couple of recipes since we tried the lobster last and I must say we enjoyed it. Blu was beautiful and well managed by Shah. The Buffet, i thought was nice and the pizza was extraordinary. I was told in June they had begun to make their own dough by scratch. My only complaint is when it is crowded it is too busy for me.

 

Entertainment

We only made one show of Jenny Curry and we felt she had a beautiful voice. We also listen to Nestor Santuro and Tammy Rafferty. We very much enjoyed Ken and Lionel from the ships staff.

 

St Croix

We went to the beach near the ship. The beach was in average not pristine shape and there was a lot of sea grass. Something in the sea grass gave me mild short lasting itchiness where it touched. Due to a recent storm the water was murky.

 

St Kitts

We did a private snorkel tour with Blue Water Safaris. The water was pristine, but not much to see for snorkeling. I think due to recent storm we went to a different area.

 

Dominica

Last April we did a superb tour with Levi Bumbling, so this time we stayed on the ship.

 

Grenada

We took a private tour to most sights. It drizzled a little. We enjoyed a rum factory that was hundreds of years old and learning about nutmeg. Grenada had an old Hawaii feel, with less dramatic water falls. Next time we will schedule a water activity.

 

St Thomas

We took a taxi to Coki beach to snorkel. I am sure diving would have been better. There were a lot of fish all asking, “where is my dog biscuit?” There was also some sea grass here and the water was murky around the rocky point where the turtle is supposed to dwell. I am sure it has to do with the recent storm.

 

St Juan

We stayed on the ship as we were doing a b2b. I will likely not plan this again. The day was nice and not too hot so it would have been a good day to walk around Old San Juan. One of our fellow passengers left the line and could not be found and from the time we gathered at 9:30, it took another 90 minutes to get back on the ship.

 

Cabin

For our second week on the Summit we moved to SS cabin 6145, next to the Penthouse. We made plenty of jokes about the “downgrade.” I will say that it was delightful cabin. The bathroom was roomy and better than the RS, although it did not have a jacuzzi in the bathtub or on the balcony. The room is not sound proof, you can hear the neighbors at breakfast and playing the piano. The balcony is a nice size but is not private from the family cabin on deck seven. The lights on the balcony have a brass cover so the light does not go above the balcony and it is a nice light, not a spotlight light. This was a relief really after the week before and the bright spotlight in our bedroom. The curtains completely black out light, if you need it to. There is a limitation to hang items in closet, however. It was a beautifully appointed cabin and I would book it again.

 

Entertainment

We listened to Nestor Santurio from our balcony and Tammy Rafferty in Al Bacio. We attend the Top Chef event and laughed. It was well done. We also attended ”How to cook the perfect steak.” It was nice and we picked up some tips and learned about Normandie. There were two movies under the stars offered on deck 12 this week. We missed them but hope to try again should they be offered on a future sailing. They were offered for one showing each of the two nights at 10:30 and 10:15. The titles were Blended and Frozen.

 

Canyon Ranch Spa

This was our first time with Canyon Ranch and an M class spa. We do think the personal recliners are much nicer on the S class ship in the Persian Garden. However, there are large sauna rooms too and more space for them than on S class. We found our treatments with the acupuncturist to be top notch. Also a stone massage I had the week before was excellent. We did encounter a couple of poorly trained therapist attempting to sell and that was off putting and embarrassing for them I am sure. The treatments were good and they had, at least on our sailings discounts you could count on and book ahead, which we appreciated. 25% off on port days and standard $109 for basic facial or massage and other treatments.

 

Food

This week we ate at Blu, Cosmopolitan, Qsine, Normandie and Bistro on 5

 

Blu was very good as well as the Cosmopolitan in food and service. Normandie was excellent. We tried Qsine for the third time and the first time on Mclass. We found the restaurant lovely and the service excellent. My opinion from other ships, was that it was a quirky experience with so so food. This time the food we ordered was better and the service more professional, so I will definitely return. Bistro on 5 had good crepes made to order and it is set up where you watch them cooking the crepes. The Summit Bistro on 5 had an expanded menu, but an oven was broken so we could not try the flat bread or the goat cheese with onions tart. The soup was served in a nice bread bowl and the we enjoyed it.

 

It was fun to see staff from a former Silhouette cruise in Al Bacio. We also noticed they had more impressive deserts than I had noticed from S class ships. I asked about it and I was told they served only premium on the Summit!

 

Soap Box

If the fish and turtles are fed for encounters with tourists, they are made pets, plus the food is not good for the water or remaining reef. After living around endangered sea life it was a bit unsettling how many tours feed fish and turtles for encounters in the Caribbean. We also found one ships snorkeling tour that had little regard for caring for guests safety in the water. It was surprising to me how many guests did not know what a dead reef was or how that may effect what they see. Being that the cruising business is about the ocean and presumably a healthy ocean is in all of our best interest, i would like to see more education offered on tours or on ships on these subjects.

 

A suggestion for ships tours I have is to let us know where we are snorkeling and if the reef is alive or not.

 

Barbados

We took a private tour with Elegance, which does feed the fish and turtles and yes the encounters are close. The crew was extraordinarily attentive and food was the best of any snorkel trip we took.

 

St Lucia

This was the worst described and worst ships tour we have ever purchased.

 

Pitons Cruise and and Snorkel SLC4

Sail aboard a 50 ft powerboat to the Soufriere Bay for a spectacular snorkeling experience beneath the Pitons.

Our first clue that the staff was not engaged, was no one asked us to remove shoes to walk on the deck. The correct description for this tour was a taxi service to a very crowded and dirty beach and marine sactuary by the Pitons. The boat dropped us off on a dock and left us for 90 minutes, throwing fish food overboard as it sailed away to where we imagined we would snorkel. Before our drop off the staff gave us bright yellow green vests to wear and they gave out fins and snorkeling equipment. Where we were on the boat there was no safety review of how to snorkel for beginners. There was a review on how to put on a vest. The vest my husband received had water in it. The staff told him to empty the water which he did, but it promptly filled up again while snorkeling. We discovered it had a broken valve, so I can say, no one is checking this equipment. We were never in danger, we are good swimmers. However, I can’t imagine dropping people at a beach without supervision the way they did. I suppose someone with binoculars could have been counting the vests from far away to see if anyone went under, but I doubt it. One of the folks on shore who was selling activities did let us know when our boat returned, but I do not see how he could have been supervising closely.

 

The beach had a dirty diaper and other sanitary products on it. The chairs they told us we could use were filled, however we were graciously given space on one to leave our things. The beach is a marine preserve. Yet people without any info on how to protect themselves or the reef were given fins. I doubt this marine preserve will last being treated the way it is.

 

Despite all that, it was a unique snorkeling experience, but the staff was just calling it in that day and i sent in an Attention to Detail card about it. I received three calls from guest services to see if I had received a call from the shore excursion manager. Guest services discovered our phone did not take messages. On our last day, we connected and I explained what happened and she told me they just couldn’t be everywhere all the time. She seemed surprised we were dropped off at beach. She asked about other excursions we were on and I shared our experiences there. No discount was offered nor was asked for, and I wouldn’t necessarily discount this tour, but just consider it a taxi service with self service. I would not recommend for anyone needing supervision in the water, or a family with many children to watch.

 

Antigua

ANO3 Ships tour Catamaran Sail, Snorkel and Beach Cruise (Notice it says beach)

 

This was the most entertaining, engaging crew I have every sailed with. The fellow who can limbo, completely blew my mind. The staff gave an excellent safety lesson before we got in the water. We were on Paradise Reef, which I heard was three miles long and we snorkeled at a place called bones. Which I wondered later, if it was because of the dead reef. There was not much to see except jelly fish and one as large as a saucer. They apparently are not that much of an issue but they are beautiful.

 

We jumped off the back of the boat rather than go on the beach for the second stop. The water was also clouded and I assume the winter storms had something to do with visibility.

 

The boat was in good shape and if you are not too keen on what you see but want some great rum punch and fun this is a good tour, with staff looking out for you.

 

St Maarten

We took a water taxi to Philipsburg and walked around. There were over 11,000 folk on ships and the docks were like a giant mild, street party.

 

St Thomas

ST97 Turtle Cove Sail and Snorkel

 

Ok…We took a pirate ship to St Johns. There we were given an excellent safety instruction and practiced pirate speak. We saw adolescent turtles eating the sea grass on the ocean floor and coming up for air. We were instructed not to feed or touch the turtles. Which was fine, you will get plenty of turtle sightings here. The snorkeling for fish part was ok. The staff was good, the boat clean and in good shape and the humorous sales pitches were rather strong for tips or T-shirt sales at the end. Guests were told the staff only make money by tips the way their waiters are paid on the ship. We enjoyed ourselves and tipped them. But it was the heaviest tip suggestion we encountered. Our temporary pirate tattoos given to us are just now wearing off. The rum punch was also excellent.

 

We had a great holiday and would recommend the Summit.

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