Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Summit - 2/13/16 - Mini Review

masonpips

By masonpips,
in Celebrity Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

masonpips

masonpips

Posted
Posted

I won't hit everything here and I'm going to upload some photos from my iPhone after each post, but a shortish review of our week!

 

Booking info / Backgroun:

We are long time cruisers, mainly RCCL, but Celebrity Century for our 15 year anniversary, 5 years ago. Since this was our 20th, we knew we wanted Celebrity and selected Summit, mainly for the additional (new to us) ports. We booked with the GO123 offer – gratuities, classic drink package and $300 OBC. I was able to get us one of the “good” Sky Suites of 6145. Thanks to the guy that put the video of the room in YouTube!

 

Pre-Cruise - Travel in

We have two kids at home and either had to leave at crack o’dawn Friday or Saturday for decent flights. Since the ship was departing at 8:30, we went for Saturday. Have NEVER flown in day of cruise before! But given our previous trip (in Century review) we also knew if a storm was coming we could probably get out earlier. It was about $600 for the flights and I planned to add “Economy Comfort”, since they were long flights, for the extra leg room. First Class was $800. I hem-hawed around and finally bit the bullet and paid First Class!

 

Then American changed the flight from DFW to TUL to a regional jet, no first class. DH called and they gave us each $300 vouchers for the change. So we paid $500 for 3/4’s of our flights to be first class and the final 40 minutes in coach. #winning

 

We slept on the way from TUL-MIA after a nice breakfast and then slept again from MIA-SJU after a nice lunch!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
masonpips

masonpips

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Boarding 2/13

The flight was early and we had carry-on luggage (for a week, go us!) and we jumped into a taxi. We waltzed into the terminal, brought our luggage with us and through check-in and were on the ship by 3:06 (landing was supposed to be at 2:37). We went immediately to our room to drop our luggage

 

We met Jose, the head butler, and Emmylou, our main room attendant. Both were fabulous all week. I would see Jose in the hall and say “there are snacks waiting right?” “Yes, ma’am”. TOO MUCH FOOD!

 

Rest of the short afternoon was spent unpacking, sending things off to be pressed, exploring the ship and taking a nap pre-dinner! The muster drill was in Rendezvous Lounge for us and was LONG and very serious. We went down at 7:40 (scheduled at 7:45) and were there at least 30 minutes I’d say. A few people tried to wander out (NO), use their cellphones (NO), stand in the “walking aarea” (NO) and there was expected to be 100% silence. It was handled well, just seemed long.

 

We headed behind us to Luminae for our first dinner! The waiter (I think he was Jose, we switched to Curt later in the week, just because of timing) recommended the Roasted Tomato Soup and the filet. I will say this may have been THE BEST MEAL I have EVER HAD at sea. It’s a hard decision with Palo on Disney (which is so long ago that it’s faded, but I do remember the brunch and stone crab!). The soup’s flavor was unbelievable and the filet WAS the best meat I’ve ever had at sea. I have no idea what dessert even was because the food was too good to remember! Go w/your waiter’s recommendations!

 

We saw the show which started w/some amazing acrobatic/rope thing (lol) and was good. Ken Mills was the CD and we really enjoyed him all week!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
masonpips

masonpips

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Tortola 2/14 - Sunday

We had breakfast in Luminae today and it was very good. The eggs were actually eggs and not powdered yuck. Wasn’t a big fan of the potatoes but this was the best bacon of the week (every other single time it was to the point of charred, WAY overcooked).

 

We booked online with Aristocrat Charters and had a total of 14 passengers on board w/two captains (Scott and Luke). The catamaran was the Lionheart and was about a 10 minute walk from the ship. Side note: there is vitually NOTHING at the dock right now, but they are obviously building tons of future shops. We sailed to 3 spots – snorkeling first at Angelfish Reef, which is near the Caves, but there were SO many boats we skipped going into them. We then went to a cove area where you could snorkel, paddle board or just hang out. They served lunch (good!) and there were PLENTY of drinks to go around – beer, rum punch, rum something or another and RUM. LOL. We finished up at the Indians where the snorkeling was amazing. I’d highly recommend this excursion!

 

We had dinner reservations at Q’Sine tonight. AMAZING and TOO MUCH FOOD. The filet was as good as the night before in Luminae and we enjoyed everything we ordered!

 

I can’t remember which show was which night but I will say we loved the comedian, the English singer that won “Holland’s Got Talent” and the other English singer Jane Curry. All of them were excellent and we enjoyed every show! The first Celebrity show was better than the 2nd (to us) but the singers and dancers are all super talented. We didn’t see the juggler later in the week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
masonpips

masonpips

Posted
  • Author
Posted

At Sea 2/15 - Monday

I think we had room service today for breakfast. It was the typical room service breakfast IMO. We grabbed pool chairs (upstairs above the pool where we prefer to be for more wind) and just relaxed. We decided to try Luminae for lunch as it was the only day it was open. I ordered the truffle/mushroom risotto – SO good, but a dinner sized portion! And dh ordered the Filet Cobb Salad. We expected a salad w/3-4 slices of filet on top. He got a GIANT filet w/a side salad. We laughed and laughed. 3 days in a row, FILET. And every single one of them was outstanding! Cooked perfectly and melt-in-your-mouth!

 

We basically did pool all afternoon, hit the showers and show, then decided we were still full from lunch and had dinner at the buffet. The Stir Fry was my favorite, the pasta bar was a close 2nd. It wasn’t busy at all.

 

Martinique 2/16 - Tuesday

We had just been here in November aboard Adventure of the Seas and weren’t that impressed with the town and with so many other ports, didn’t feel the need to go to a beach. So we had our 2nd sea day. The ship was pretty empty (I will say the ship didn’t feel packed all week except at Muster Drill!) and we enjoyed a relaxing day. We did Bistro on 5 for lunch – Excellent! We thought it would be free as suite guests but weren’t sure. Dh stopped at the customer desk to ask and the guy wasn’t sure and called to ask. He couldn’t get an answer so told Dh “if they charge you, you come back here and I’ll take it off”. Outstanding service mentality! Dh had the spicy crepe and I had the caprese panini. We ate in Luminae again for dinner – this was probably our least favorite night there but it was still good (sorry, no photos or memory of the exact dishes – Dh had fish (Bass?))

Link to comment
Share on other sites
masonpips

masonpips

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Dominica 2/17 – Wednesday

We had really gone back and forth over what to do here. We wanted this cruise to relax and considered a couple of tours but ended up thinking we’d wait and see the weather and then possibly go snorkeling. It was raining/misting off and on but we got off to see the town. The port shopping map the night before had made me laugh out loud – there were 4 things listed. We hit the main “store” and then got too close to the barricade area and were hounded by the dudes all trying to sell excursions. We ditched them and wandered a bit – we saw a couple of churches from the mid 1800’s, that was neat. We then got back on the ship and hung out. If we ever go back, I would book a private tour here, probably a sailboat to snorkel and that would be it.

 

Tonight was Normandie. Amazing. I had the lobster bisque, the goat cheese souffle, the lobster and the Grand Marnier souffle. All of it was outstanding.

 

St. Kitts 2/18 - Thursday

We booked a private daysail with Miles aboard the Feisty with 6 others from the roll call. We had sailed w/him before and knew what to expect. We took a taxi to Cockleshell Beach to meet him. We went and snorkeled and then over to Nevis to have lunch. We sailed on the way back and arrived back at the beach on time and took our pre-arranged taxi to the ship. Tonight was lobster in Luminae (lobster two nights in a row? Yes!) - it was great too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
masonpips

masonpips

Posted
  • Author
Posted

St. Thomas/St. John 2/19 - Friday

We pre-booked the ferry ride over to St. John online in advance. In looking at the weather during the week, this looked to be a bust so we cancelled it and decided to wait until Friday to decide. We set the alarm for 7:30 and woke up to SUN! Dh ran back down and re-booked. We did the version that was ONLY the ferry ride – there others w/an island tour or more time on a ferry based tour. Luckily it wasn’t the REALLY LOUD GUY from years ago. We met outside the ship and walked to the ferry. The ride took about 30 minutes. We jumped into a taxi with others and went to Trunk Bay. We had originally thought to go to Cinnamon Bay to try something new but the taxi driver said there were 500 campers there and it would be packed.

 

We had a GREAT time at Trunk (as usual) and headed back to town about 1:30 (the excursion was 10-4) - needed to be at the ferry by 3:15. We grabbed lunch at The Tap Room and then it poured. LOL. We hung out a bit, bought some t-shirts and a pain-killer for the ferry ride home. They served MASS quantities of rum punch as well on the ferry. The only thing I would change about this whole day is dock from 7-6 and have the excursion run 9-5. An extra hour on each end would be awesome!

 

We packed a bunch of stuff and decided we were too tired/worn out for Luminae so we went to the buffet one last time. Stir Fry for me again and dh had the “Pick your Protein” Cobia and salmon. We hit the stores to spend the rest of our OBC and Café for a dessert to take to the room

 

Heading Home 2/20 – Saturday

We chose self-disembark as we had a 9:15 am flight (we had had the 11 am flight after Adventure and made it to the airport by 8:45 with a HORRENDOUS self-disembark process so I figured with less passengers we’d be fine and our other option was to get home at midnight). We set the alarm for 6 and headed to Normandie at 6:45 to wait. There were maybe 50 total people by the time they escorted us out of there. They took us in elevators and from Normandie to taxi it took 8 minutes. Most of that was waiting for the elevator (we were on the 3rd one sent down). We were at the airport by 7:30, checked our bags, grabbed Starbucks and waited.

 

The flight took off early and landed at DFW early. We had a 3+ hour layover so we went immediately to Pappasito’s! Our 2nd flight was delayed due to a broken overhead (seriously) and the lav wasn’t working (this was the small jet they switched us to) and we landed about 5:30 versus 5:00. Not bad!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
masonpips

masonpips

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Overall thoughts:

Service and crew was outstanding. Captain and staff were highly visible (they all came to the Meet n Mingle) and many participated in the volleyball game – so funny. All crew had smiles on their faces and were super nice and outgoing.

 

Casino – dh visited 6/7 nights and came out ahead – he likes poker but if there wasn’t a game, he would play blackjack and did well. I pocketed all I could to spend on Indy in June!

 

Future cruises – we booked for Feb 2018 and then sent a note to friends asking if they wanted in. We went back and booked 5 more couples ($200 deposit per room) so they could get the additional $150 OBC. We also booked NEXT year for us and they had an “extra” sale on that one so we chose the Pick 2 of gratuities and OBC and ended up with $550 of OBC which will pay for that drink package!

 

Drinks: we had the Classic Package as part of our reservations. Dh upgraded with 5 days left so he paid $50+ for that. This was mainly to try the martinis and better wine here and there. I survived on the Classic (although I would occasionally swap with dh, he’d get a martini and then switch my wine (the Pinot Noir on the classic we both liked).

 

Dress code: WOW! Totally amazed and happy with our fellow passengers. Evening Chic nights people DRESSED UP! We love it on a cruise and were in cocktail attire both nights. Even on casual nights I was very impressed with the overall dress of everyone. Some people in shorts and tops – their choice, but the majority dressed in slacks or dresses all week!

 

Overall, I cannot more highly recommend this ship and crew. It was a fantastic week! Dh thanked me several times for handling it all (doing the research for the best room, the perks, etc). Can’t wait 'til next year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
richsea

richsea

Posted
Posted

Thanks for your review & photos! We love sailing out of Puerto Rico.

 

Regarding Dominica, we also experienced the guys for you to take tours, & found that if you just say no thanks, they don't push it. Dominica is not noed for beaches, but if you take an excursion up int the mountains, there are some beautiful waterfalls & gorgeous scenery to be found, although the roads with their hairpin turns can be scary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...