Summit Review - Nov 29 to Dec 6 2014 - With Pictures

[ediemarie]

enjoying your review. we've booked the summit (for the second time) to Bermuda (for the second time) for may of 2016. we've never booked that far out before and you review is certainly keeping my anticipation level up.

 

like you I am a beer drinker while my partner is more of a mixed drink drinker!

last time on the summit, 2013, we purchased the premium drink package and knew right away that we had made the right decision.

 

our daily routine on board always included a few martini's at the martini bar. I would highly recommend the premium package on your next voyage!

 

thanks again for taking the time to post.

[poffles]

enjoying your review. we've booked the summit (for the second time) to Bermuda (for the second time) for may of 2016. we've never booked that far out before and you review is certainly keeping my anticipation level up.

 

like you I am a beer drinker while my partner is more of a mixed drink drinker!

last time on the summit, 2013, we purchased the premium drink package and knew right away that we had made the right decision.

 

our daily routine on board always included a few martini's at the martini bar. I would highly recommend the premium package on your next voyage!

 

thanks again for taking the time to post.

 

Thanks ... glad u are enjoying. I am definitely thinking I"m going to do the premium this time. If I do, I was thinking I might selectively go through the martini menu to 'sample' a bunch. I would also like to be able to order Stella so I do really think I would take advantage. Decisions decisions decisions ... life can be so tough sometimes :confused: :D :rolleyes:

[poffles]

I'm pretty sure it was Fort James Beach, it's been a while, but that is what it looks like to me.

 

Thanks for your review.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Thanks ... good to know so I can now have a name to reference where I was LOL

[I_r_a]

Hi Pof,

 

Thanks for your 1st-class review.

 

We shall be visiting your hometown aboard The Summit in Fall of 2016.

 

Ira

[poffles]

Hi Pof,

 

Thanks for your 1st-class review.

 

We shall be visiting your hometown aboard The Summit in Fall of 2016.

 

Ira

 

Thanks Ira. If you haven't been to Halifax before I think you will really enjoy. If you've been here before, then your return would seem to indicate you enjoyed.

 

Hopefully you have wonderful weather when you are here.

Edited February 2, 2015 by poffles

[poffles]

As requested ... the Summit Dailies - Nov 29, 2014 Southern Caribbean.

 

I don't have a scanner so these are done by taking pictures so excuse the fact that some are a little askew. Figured it would be easier to share the album and let everyone interested look through them there rather than link them here one by one.

 

Enjoy :)

 

http://s822.photobucket.com/user/poffles/library/2014%20Travel/Summit%20-%20Dailies

 

 

.

Edited February 2, 2015 by poffles

[poffles]

Time to finish this off ... last day in the port of St. Thomas.

 

We have been to St. Thomas 4 times prior so we figured it was time to do something different and take the trip over to St. John.

 

Another beautiful sunny day as we arrive in port so this would be perfect for our plans. The docking here was uneventful and we weren't the first to arrive.

 

 

 

 

 

Calm before the storm :) Party on LOL

 

 

The boys waiting to tie us up.

 

[poffles]

So this is the Celebrity excursion we booked.

 

Day 7 05-Dec-2014 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

 

Tour: STO3 - Self Explore St John

Reservation Time: 2014-12-05 10:00 AM

Total Cost *: 78.00 CAD (39.00 Per Person)

 

We didn't feel like having a structured tour so we felt this fit us the best. We met at the pier inside the gate and when everyone was there we were led (walking) a short distance from the ship to the boat that would take us over the St. John.

 

We really enjoyed the boat ride as it was a beautiful day and it was nice to see the scattered islands from a different vantage point. Can't recall how long it took to get over there, maybe 30 minutes, but I liked that it was long enough to actually enjoy the trip.

 

Here's a look at the boat and the view along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

[poffles]

Here we are arriving in St. John. Looked like a little fishing village.

 

 

 

 

 

[bamtlc]

Wanted to subscribe. Thank you for doing this review. Going on this one NEXT February. ..so just dreaming now. My 1st Celebrity.

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Forums mobile app

[poffles]

When we got off the boat we were greeted with several taxi shuttles waiting to take people to different areas on the island. Some would have been for the structured tour but there were ones you could get on to go to Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay .. not sure where else. We hopped on Trunk Bay shuttle for a cost of $4 pp (one way). They are the open air shuttles like they have in St. Thomas and I love these because they make the drive part of the experience.

 

Can't recall for sure the cost but there is a fee to get into Trunk Bay. Seem to recall $5 or $6 pp. Here are some shots of this beach ...soooooooooooo beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

[poffles]

It would appear they have a lifeguard station for those that may want to know.

 

 

 

 

[poffles]

We didn't stay here long. We didn't plan on settling on the beach so we didn't take our bathing suits or towels (soooooo dumb) so we wandered the beach a bit and then took one of the waiting taxi shuttles back to the area near the dock. There were some shops there that looked interesting so figured we'd check them out.

 

Here is a hydra-stone type shop area that has more upscale type unique shops. Was fun to see different stuff from the typical diamonds and clothing found in other ports.

 

 

 

 

 

[poffles]

We were hungry along the way and had a sandwich at a shop here ... it was so unbelievably good. It was like a smoked meat sandwich and the owner said he does his own meat and takes 24 hours to get it just right and took him some time to get it just right. My opinion his work paid off as we devoured it. It was around $10 for the sandwich but my friend and I were able to share and be more than satisfied when done so worth it.

 

For anyone going I'll plug it here in case you want to check it out.

 

http://www.on-stjohn.com/2014/10/22/north-shore-deli-open-for-business/

 

After our stroll through the shops we ended up close to the dock and we just wanted to sit somewhere and have a drink while we waited for our pickup. Forgot to mention we were told to return to the dock for 2pm for our trip back to St. Thomas.

 

We found this place, nobody there and weren't too sure about the place as it doesn't really look like much from the outside, but it was empty and there were seats on the outside with a view of the street/water/dock area so figured it was a good place to settle.

 

 

They had a graprefruit margarita as their special drink that day so that was a no brainer for me. I can't tell you how unbelievably good that was, i could have drank a pitcher or two. Wan't cheap though but hey I don't expect I will be back here again for a long time (if ever) so who cares and I had two!

 

We weren't there long when others strolled in, funny how that happens. Perhaps coincidental but always seems if I sit in an empty section in a theater people gather around, pick an empty parking spot further away from the store and return to the car and have cars surround you. I find it an interesting thing and it happens all the time. Funny.

 

Anyway, sitting there sipping my margarita watching people stroll by and going to the dock way before the time we needed to be there made me enjoy our relaxing spot even more. Why rush to sit on a hard bench and bake in the sun any longer than you have to, try to milk every moment to enjoy your time on these islands.

 

Before long we were loading back on the boat and heading back. I want to take a moment here to say people amaze me. There was one couple that dropped into the bar we were at and got frustrated that they didn't get served before others and finally left pissed off. Okay why should you get served first?? So now we are on the boat and that same couple who were at the dock early end up being the last ones and almost late to board the boat?? Okay that's fine, but then the lady is grumbling when they don't get a great seat and have to sit on a bench like seat without a back ... are you for real??? Guess her husband had a back back and she was so worried about him and he kept saying he was fine but she did not want to give it up. I don't understand this, if things matter that much to you then plan accordingly and don't expect others to sacrifice for you. It was funny to witness the transformation after the free flowing rum punch on the way back. His back seemed fine :D

 

Sorry I got side tracked, couldn't help myself. As just mentioned, on the trip back the crew made many trips around the boat with pitchers full of rum punch and kept refilling passengers cups as fast as they could drink them. I don't care for rum punch, too sweet for me but others were loving it.

 

Before long were were back to St. Thomas and we had a bit of time before we had to be back on the Summit so we strolled the shops nearby. A great end to a wonderful day and we are very glad we did this excursion. A very memorable day.

 

That evening was more of the same and packing our suitcase for putting outside our door. Sad reality we are getting off the next day and heading home.

[poffles]

Final day disembarking was uneventful. We strolled the ship before settling in the theater which was our waiting area for our time to depart. Seemed very quiet on the ship and not the chaos we experienced on the Epic. Nice end to the trip. Found our luggage no problem in the luggage area, waited in line to get out of the building which took a bit, that was the longest line we witnessed the entire trip but no biggie and it moved fast.

 

Outside we waited in an organized line to get a taxi and before long we were at the airport. The chaos and lines at the airport quickly brought us back to reality. So painful and what a long wait.

 

Interestingly we started chatting with an older couple in front of us and coincidentally they were on the Summit too and you'd think they were on a different planet listening to the wifes complaints. I was shocked. When she heard we loved it she said well they weren't 'elite' and that is likely why the different experience. I said this was our first time too so we weren't elite either so nope that's not it. Just made me realize how different peoples experience and opinions can be. She was trashing it big time and we were listening dumb founded. It shows that when you read reviews you really have to average them out as so many factors come into play. Sometimes the experiences portrayed are 100% valid but other times attitude plays a big part. We all know people that are always happy and everything is good no matter what, meanwhile there are others than you want to avoid because they prefer to complain (I work with some of them :eek:). When reading things on here we don't have the advantage of really knowing the person to be able to put things into perspective. I like to think I am more positive but will tell it like it is :D

 

I hope this report benefits somebody and I envy anyone that will be on the Summit in the near future. I think she is a great ship and the Southern itinerary just made it all the better.

[Elainemh]

Loved your review. Your pictures were beautiful. Brought back many memories of ports we have previously visited.

We will be sailing The Summit for two weeks in September. In the pictures

of your stateroom, I noticed no drawer space for clothing. Are there shelves

in the closet area? Any information will be appreciated.

Elaine

[poffles]

Loved your review. Your pictures were beautiful. Brought back many memories of ports we have previously visited.

We will be sailing The Summit for two weeks in September. In the pictures

of your stateroom, I noticed no drawer space for clothing. Are there shelves

in the closet area? Any information will be appreciated.

Elaine

 

This is the closet and don't recall any shelves inside here at all.

 

 

That said there were definitely drawers and think they are just to the side of the closet as we were able to put our clothes away there. Don't have a picture unfortunately. We were able to pretty much empty our suitcases between drawers and hangers so we were able to make the storage work for us.\

 

Hope you have a great trip.

[Elainemh]

This is the closet and don't recall any shelves inside here at all.

 

 

That said there were definitely drawers and think they are just to the side of the closet as we were able to put our clothes away there. Don't have a picture unfortunately. We were able to pretty much empty our suitcases between drawers and hangers so we were able to make the storage work for us.\

 

Hope you have a great trip.

 

Thank you for the information. Glad to know there are shelves for clothes.

Elaine

[ozarkmama]

This is the closet and don't recall any shelves inside here at all.

 

 

That said there were definitely drawers and think they are just to the side of the closet as we were able to put our clothes away there. Don't have a picture unfortunately. We were able to pretty much empty our suitcases between drawers and hangers so we were able to make the storage work for us.\

 

Hope you have a great trip.

 

We had an OV last year and there were drawers to the right of the closet. The safe is on top of the drawers

[djdobrott]

Love your review and picture. Thinking about booking a cruise on the Summit next year in the Caribbean for a Charter sailing. I just got off the Connie and prefer S-Class, but this cruise looks fun.

[sheff29]

We are looking into booking a couples massage on our cruise in April. We're on the Summit's seven day southern Caribbean very port intensive itinerary. We are ok with having our spa service during a cruise port day (St Maarten) - 1. we've seen much of the island on previous visits. 2. to be honest, after several full-day tours in a row (and hopefully some late nite fun!), we will look forward to a little down time onboard. 3. We have onboard credit to use.

 

We are in Concierge class, not Aqua class, so even though we are booking a service in the spa, we were told that the Persian Garden is $25pp additional. The spa service entitles you to use lockers and dry sauna only. The 50 min two by two massage is $210 (discounted from $252). I got the impression from the woman I spoke to on the phone that there may be other or better promotions once you board the ship.

 

Does anyone have experience with Canyon Ranch promotions/discounts, and is it worth the extra $25pp for the Persian Garden (steam room, salt water pool, etc). Thanks for any advice or tips.

[sheff29]

Sorry for posting in wrong spot, trying to remove. Obviously you can see I'm new to this!

[Viva_la_Vida]

Fabulous pics, thanks for a great review!

[Mungus]

Thanks Poffles for posting such a great review and including your dailies! Looking forward to seeing all there is to do on our Summit cruise next January. You've given us some great ideas of things to look into and your pictures were wonderful. Thanks for taking the time to include all that you did. I agree....if you set out to have a good time, chances are good that you will!

Happy Travels to you!!

[poffles]

Wanted to subscribe. Thank you for doing this review. Going on this one NEXT February. ..so just dreaming now. My 1st Celebrity.

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Forums mobile app

 

Time will fly by so fast. I booked a year out myself and this place kept me entertained while the time passed. Expect you will love the Summit and the Southern islands ... what's not to love.