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Photo Review - Celebrity Summit Oct 24th - Oct 31st, 2015

WinksCruises

By WinksCruises,
in Celebrity Cruises

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SCCAcruiser

SCCAcruiser

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Winks, could you advise how the situation with deck chairs was on the day at sea? Primarily interested in deck 11 and the solarium pool. Will we be able to find 2 chairs together in these areas around 10'ish or are they long gone by then? Thanks.

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WinksCruises

WinksCruises

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Where did Mrs Winks (I assume) buy those matching outfits. I want to make sure to block that website from my DW, else I'll be sporting one too.:eek:
Good thinking! But for the safety of all concerned, we're probably much better off keeping the url of that dangerous little site strictly under wraps.

 

Winks, could you advise how the situation with deck chairs was on the day at sea?[/Quote]I'm going to defer to Mrs. Winks who occasionally visits these pages and knows all about deck chairs; reserving them, stealing them and fighting over them.

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djwool

djwool

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Speaking for my DH, Winks, I believe it was a bit of truth combined with tongue-in-cheek humor. After all there is always some truth in humor. The exterior areas (our balcony, the pool railing area and hull of the ship) had noticeable rust and tell tale signs that definitely showed her age. This was not something that we considered a big problem. The interior areas were in much better shape. I hope that answers your question. :p

 

Hopefully those problems will be addressed during the dry dock from February 27 to March 12. We sail April 9th.

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WinksCruises

WinksCruises

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The next morning we docked in St. Kitts and saw something we hadn’t seen the entire cruise; other ships in port with us. Both Royal’s Independence and Brilliance of the Seas were docking in Basseterre. At the good pier. The pier located downtown, close to the coveted shopping like Diamonds International and Del Sol. For some reason, Celebrity’s Summit had been assigned a berth at the industrial cargo pier - a few miles out of town.

 

Later that evening in the theater, the comedian would make mention of our second rate berthing location - and then poke fun at the pecking order he perceived permeated the cruise ship industry. It was a funny bit, actually, that almost got him in trouble with the Captain, when he went so far as claiming that, because she was new to the fleet, and a woman, she was getting all the bad, second fiddle, pier assignments!

 

As for us, with no concrete day plans, Mrs. Winks and I took our time getting up, having coffee and finding the morning's gangplank location. Once off the ship, we found there was a free shuttle bus taking passengers into town, but this was going to be a beach day for us, so we simply joined a group of others taking a van taxi headed to Cockleshell Beach.

 

08_01_TaxiScam.jpg

Van Taxi to Cockleshell Beach

 

Cockleshell is a secluded strip of beach located 40 minutes away from the pier, which probably explained its 28$ roundtrip fare for 2. It was only when we reached the beach that Queenie, our cab driver, said she collected for the full roundtrip upfront and then let the group decide at what time she should return to pick all of us up. And of course, some of us wanted to stay all day while others only wanted to stay a few hours.

 

We finally all agreed as a group that 2pm would work as a time for our pickup... Freeing Queenie to run off with our pre-paid return fares. Suckers!

 

08_02_Beach.jpg

One Love Bar

 

The beach was actually a fine one. Spotted with makeshift huts and shacks that sold cheap beer and food from independent vendors. A nice change from the hotel and restaurants establishments that crowded the beach at Martinique.

 

James, the attendant and owner of the One Love Bar was quick to set us up with chairs, umbrellas and rum drinks. While Mrs. Winks swam and sunbathed, I filled out some postcards I found for sale a few shacks down at a snorkel shop.

 

08_03_Beach.jpg

Fun in duh Sun

 

And although Cockleshell was a nice spot, one of the best beaches of the cruise, we found ourselves itching for a change of scenery by about noontime, having been there only 2 hours or so. But the orange bands Queenie had secured to our wrists earlier reminded us of our pre-paid return ride, which was still another 2 hours off.

 

And so we did, what we imagine countless of others have done in the past; we flagged down another cab to see what it would cost to go back to town.

 

I’ll never forget the full hearted laugh that new taxi driver gave us when we explained we’d purchased a roundtrip fare from Queenie. For sure, we’d been had. That was not an accepted practice on the island, we were told.

 

08_04_Signs.jpg

The interesting variety of St. Kitts signage...

 

The return van took us back to the Basseterre and the Royal ships, which was fine with us because we knew there was the free shuttle running Summit passengers back to the cargo pier.

 

We had a nice lunch at a restaurant with a balcony overlooking the harbor and the ships, did some shopping, and then found the shuttle back to Summit. (And though I was tempted, I passed on the vending machine offering the affordable Lasik Surgery!!)

 

08_05_Signs.jpg

Leaving St. Kitts

 

Back on the ship, we enjoyed one of the better sunsets of the cruise and watched as the Royal ships pulled out of St. Kitts from the comfort of our aft facing balcony.

 

We were excited getting ready for dinner because there was a new, real, comedian, Jim Colliton - who's actually been featured on Comedy Central and XM/Sirius radio - doing a show tonight. And to be sure, he put on a much better, polished, and genuinely funny show as compared to the amateurish comic from earlier in the itinerary.

 

08_06_Theater.jpg

The Celebrity Theater and stand-up comedian Jim Colliton

 

Coming up: St. Thomas and a trip up to Paradise Point by cable car.

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Mrs. Winks

Mrs. Winks

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Winks, could you advise how the situation with deck chairs was on the day at sea? Primarily interested in deck 11 and the solarium pool. Will we be able to find 2 chairs together in these areas around 10'ish or are they long gone by then? Thanks.

The Solarium and seating right near the pool usually fill up fairly quick. With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised to see seating, albeit limited, available in both areas at around 10:30 am when I headed out. I did notice that there were plenty of chairs to be had on the level above the pool throughout the day. We also sailed when schools were in session and therefore did not have many kids/big families on our cruise hogging chairs. :)

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Mrs. Winks

Mrs. Winks

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Where did Mrs Winks (I assume) buy those matching outfits. I want to make sure to block that website from my DW, else I'll be sporting one too.:eek:

 

Good thinking! But for the safety of all concerned, we're probably much better off keeping the url of that dangerous little site strictly under wraps.

 

You might be surprised to know that WinksCruises is behind all evening wardrobe decisions including these snazzy outfits! I tried to pry the URL from him but even under severe water torture he refused to break. I can't wait to see what he has in store for our next cruise. ;)

Edited by Mrs. Winks
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snowyboy

snowyboy

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07_06_Dom.jpg

High seas fashion disasters!

 

That night, we donned matching Hawaiian garb and paraded around the ship like fools. At the senior officer’s event held up in the Revelations Lounge, we caught the attention of Captain Kate who insisted on a picture with us. Quite embarrassing.

 

[/color][/size][/font]

 

So pleased to see you are all ready equipped for the Celebrity new Chic Evenings (dare you).

 

John

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TickledBlue

TickledBlue

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You might be surprised to know that WinksCruises is behind all evening wardrobe decisions including these snazzy outfits! I tried to pry the URL from him but even under severe water torture he refused to break. I can't wait to see what he has in store for our next cruise. ;)

 

Everyone reading this thread must have been just as curious as me because Google pulled up the remaining text of Matching Hawaiian Outfits very quickly, without typing it all in. :) Sorry Mr. Winks, your secret can't be contained.

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shipshape sam Great Review Rare

shipshape sam

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Everyone reading this thread must have been just as curious as me because Google pulled up the remaining text of Matching Hawaiian Outfits very quickly, without typing it all in. :) Sorry Mr. Winks, your secret can't be contained.

 

LOL. Still someone has to buy them! We had them on our honeymoon to Hawaii many years ago and to be honest, it was my idea. :)

 

Just remember, the ladies dress is the important choice.

Edited by shipshape sam
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WinksCruises

WinksCruises

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09_01_Port.jpg

 

For our final port of call, the Summit docked at West Indian Company pier at the Havensight Mall in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. And the comedian’s joke from the previous evening echoed in our ears as we took note that, once again, Captain Kate was assigned the furthest parking slot from the main gate – on a day when no other cruise ships would join!! (As shown in the picture above). I guess it could have been worse; they could have made us dock at Crowne Bay – several miles out of town. But still.

 

09_02_Balcony.jpg

 

Mrs. Winks insisted on sending me off the ship ahead of her, so I could get this shot of her waving from the balcony of our cabin. As I waited for her then to join me, I watched as people walked along the long walkway or took the free shuttle down the long pier to the array or usual port shops. All the time asking myself: why did we dock so far out? (PS: For those who question whether the Summit is a bit of a rust bucket, take a close look at the picture above for some tell tale signs)

 

09_03_Trip.jpg

 

In town,we did a little window shoppnig and then I made a quick stop at the US Post Office counter to replenish my supply of postcard stamps. Next, we crossed the street and walked over to the cable car tramway, the Paradise Point Skyride, that carries you 700-feet up Flag Hill to an observatory deck/restaurant.

 

The ride is a little intimidating but always fun. We’ve done it a few times. And a bit pricey at 21$ each, roundtrip. Others say a cab ride up is only about 8$ but the tram ride is what gets the adrenaline pumping and affords incredible views of the harbor below. Some have also said you can book this through the ship as a self-guided shore excursion and it might be a buck or so cheaper.

 

09_04_CableCar.jpg

 

Safely out of the tram cars up top, you get a world class view of the island and the cruise ships (or in our case, ship) laid out before you below. You can also watch sea planes taking off and even the compound where they shot the Real World St. Thomas MTV show.

 

There’s free wi-fi, souvenir shops, a bird show (but it’s an outrageous 20$ to get a picture with a parrot), clean bathrooms and an decent restaurant for lunch. There’s also the people watching, as every 7 minutes or so, a new crop of people come and go.

 

09_05_Postcarding.jpg

 

Of course, the real draw at Paradise Point is the signature drink, the Bailey’s Bushwacker. A deceptively sweet, chocolately, milk shakey, little drink that will knock your socks off if you’re not careful. We spend a good couple of hours, taking pictures, filling out postcards, having lunch and watching the tram come and go. It’s a beautiful and peaceful spot.

 

09_06_LastNight.jpg

 

After a nice time at the point, we boarded the cable car back down and headed back to the ship. There, we were greeted with an ugly sight. Out in the halls, along with baggage that was being put out for porter pick-up, were the colorful bags of new linens and cabin supplies that indicated tomorrow we would be off the ship and a new voyage would begin.

 

A bit zonked out by too many Bushwackers, we actually ended up ordering room service rather than going for a final dinner in the MDR. We wearily and disheartedly finished packing our bags, filled out our customs forms and prepared for disembarkation in San Juan the next morning.

 

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TickledBlue

TickledBlue

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(PS: For those who question whether the Summit is a bit of a rust bucket, take a close look at the picture above for some tell tale signs)

 

Yeah, I can see the rust. Too bad they haven't done more painting. I guess fortunately we have an inside cabin that is in the bowels of the ship so we won't be viewing it constantly. :cool:

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WinksCruises

WinksCruises

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I never knew that camo clothing was forbidden in St. Kitts! That made me chuckle. I guess Duck Dynasty is out. [emoji14]
Yeah, it's becoming a prevelant law in the Caribbean - Jamaica, Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and St. Lucia (to name a few) now forbid civilians wearing it.
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