Review: Summit Southern Caribbean Cruise April 2016 (San Juan)

[FLcardio]

First post here but have used this site for some general research so figured I'd return the favor and post a review.

 

My wife and I just returned the April 9-16th 7night South Caribbean cruise on the Summit.

 

We're on the younger end of the age spectrum here I would imagine and this was just our 2nd cruise (first one being an Eastern Caribbean on RCL about 10yrs ago).

 

We flew into San Juan the day before on the 8th and stayed at the Monastery Art Suites, a small, artsy/eclectic hotel in Old San Juan. Like most places in Old San Juan it was in an older historic building so no elevator. This was a cute little place with about 9 rooms. Room was clean, bathroom upgraded with modern surfaces, wifi, and AC in room. Biggest advantage was the location in Old San Juan which meant we could walk everywhere and we spent that day and first half of the 9th walking around exploring the history forts there (highly recommended) and local restaurants. It was our first time in Puerto Rico and we thoroughly exploring the forts (LOTS of walking and stair/hill climbing).

 

On embarkation day we grabbed a cab from our hotel for the ~15min ride to the port. No problem with luggage drop off outside and a fairly short wait for card pickup (we arrived to port ~2:30-3pm). Got initial pictures taken, enjoyed the mimosa and walked on with no fuss and pretty much went straight to our room, a Veranda on the 9th floor, starboard side just off the forward set of elevators.

 

STATEROOM:

-Overall had no issue with our room. Granted this was only our 2nd cruise (first was a similar balcony stateroom on RCL's Mariner of the Seas). If anything the room and bathroom a little on the small side but if we're not sleeping/napping then we're not in the room anyway so not a big deal. Otherwise seemed to be a quite location at night. It was only during the day if we were in the room that we could hear occasional noises from the pool deck above us.

 

INTERNET:

We did get the unlimited internet package as we had small kids back home we wanted to stay in contact with. Supposedly the internet had been upgraded on the Summit but honestly I was not that impressed. Web browsing was usually ok but seemed variable and at times was very slow or not responsive. Each night we used wifi calling to call and facetime the kids back home and it was hit or miss. Usually took a few attempts to get a call to go through and even then the connection was in and out. Overall it served it's purpose and allowed us to text, call and do basic web surfing but didn't seem up to par for much more than that. Not sure if there were technical issues or not. I didn't complain or ask about it as that wasn't an important aspect of the trip for us.

 

DRINKS/DINING

We did the classic drink package and will never cruise again without some sort of drink package. We're not picky about liquor so didn't need any of the "top shelf" liquors or fancy wines so the classic package was plenty for us and covered all specialty coffees, mixed drinks and frozen cocktails. For the Whiskey/Bourbon drinkers out there, Maker's Mark was covered on the classic package which was a nice surprise as it was not on the list I had printed out from the website. Only major thing not covered were the Martini's at the martini bar though neither one of us is Martini fan so wasn't an issue. Otherwise I had no trouble with the drinks. We did enjoy the smoothies available at the Aquaspa cafe and would usually grad one on the way to breakfast.

 

For dinner we did Celebrity Select dining at the main dining room each night. Had 6:45 reservations, usually showed up closer to 7 and never had to wait more than a couple minutes. Didn't do any of the specialty restaurants. Service was excellent though and we had no complaints. Our favorite part of dinner was probably the appetizers as each one we had was terrific, though overall the entrees and dessert were very good as well. I'm not a lobster fan so I had fish on lobster night (I think it was a Haddock with some sort of crust) and honestly wasn't that impressed with it.

 

For lunch we usually did a late lunch in Oceanview cafe after we returned from our excursion and really enjoyed the buffet there. Overall better than I remember from our first RCL cruise a while back. We didn't discover afternoon tea until mid way through the week with excellent pastries and desserts there. One night we did do dinner at Oceanview cafe and found that the sushi section was actually pretty good and enjoyable.

 

Cafes: We became huge fans of Cafe al Bacio on the 5th floor and would go there for a specialty coffee at least twice a day. Usually we'd grab a coffee on the way out to an excursion though I did enjoy sitting by the windows a few times with a coffee for some reading.

 

My wife enjoyed some of the more healthy alternatives from the Aquaspa Cafe by the pool area and highly recommends the chicken salad from there.

 

Bars: Honestly we're not big drinkers or bar people and don't really cruise to meet people but to get away and relax so not sure what I have to say about the bar "scene" there as we only used them to grab a drink and then go on our way. The Martini bar seemed to be a fairly popular location in the evening with a DJ playing nearby.

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

Honestly this wasn't a big deal to us but he did end up going to several shows there. We saw both stand-up comedians that performed and actually enjoyed both of them very much. We also saw the iMagic show and the acapella group and enjoyed both of those as well. Did not see the other musical performance or the broadway style shows.

 

We did watch a couple of movies on the new Rooftop Terrace, including "In the heart of the sea" and saw the new Star Wars film for the first time there which was pretty cool. It was a large screen, easy to see if not a little too bright at times. The sound could be a little loud though they did turn it down which helped, otherwise was very easy to hear and was true surround sound I believe. But a terrific location with a good breeze and as long as it's not raining a perfect spot to lounge and watch a movie at night. The Star Wars showing attracted a decent crowd and if you weren't early to grab a good seat they filled up fast and was at capacity so if it's a popular movie then you may want to head up a little early to be sure to grab a seat.

 

Only interaction with the Casino was walking through it. We don't really gamble so didn't make use of it. Otherwise it seemed clean and smoke free.

 

POOLS

We really didn't use the main pool area at all. Honestly we had plenty of outdoors time on our excursions and beach time at the ports so didn't feel the need to spend time at the pool.

 

We did enjoy the Solarium though. It was much more up my alley being less crowded and much more quiet. We were usually able to find a couple loungers there to relax on.

 

GYM

We did make use of the gym using it 3-4 mornings during the cruise. Overall no complaints. The treadmills face straight out the front so you have a terrific view. Good selection of weight machines. A small section with a couple benches and free weights so it had all that I would need.

 

PORTS/EXCURSIONS

We booked excursions on 4 of the islands, all through Celebrity. We like to explore the islands so this trip we focused more on booking several excursions and getting out and being active. We did do some light shopping (mostly for small items to bring back to the kids/family) and weren't in the market for any big ticket items like jewelry or watches.

 

Overall we more enjoyed the ports that were more of the actual/native downtown locations as opposed to the "artificial" shopping ports that were constructed purely for tourist shopping. I'd much rather walk around their local/actual downtown and see local shops than see one major chain after another but that's just us.

 

1. TORTOLA, B.V.I.

Here we did the Island Sailaway and snorkle and REALLY enjoyed it. Started with a 45-50min sail on the catamaran out to another island for close to an hour of snorkeling around some reefs followed by a short trip to another island for some beach time followed by a 45-50min sail back to port with rum punch flowing on the way back. Overall had a blast and got too much sun. I believe this was a Sunday so most of the shops were closed and otherwise there didn't seem to be much else to do right around the port.

 

2. FORT DE FRANCE, MARTINIQUE

Here we did the Panoramic - Tour of Martinique, basically a close to 4 hour, primarily bus tour with a few stops for views of the Volcano (Mount Pelee), visit to a history cathedral, a botanical garden as well as visit to the city down at the foot of the volcano which was destroyed in the 1902 eruption and home to the location of I believe the only survivor at that time. It was our first visit to the island so we enjoyed the general tour, hearing about it's history and the guide lady was terrific. It did rain some during our tour which delayed one of the outside walking parts of it for about 10min. After the tour we walked around downtown for a little while and enjoyed walking around their markets. I've heard various things about the people there being rude or at least stand-off-ish and we had not issues. Honestly I'd rather have that then pushy folks constantly harassing me to come in to their store or waving items in my face to buy. We didn't bring any Euros but at some of the tables we could usually find someone who spoke enough english and who was willing to take US dollars.

 

3. ROSEAU, DOMINICA

We did the Dominica’s Emerald Pool and Travalga falls tour here. Got on a bus for winding trip up the mountain first to visit Travalga falls then went on to to see the Emerald pool which is about a 15 min hike through the rain forest type setting. It did rain fairly heavy during our hike so once we reached the Emerald pool the falls and water were rushing due to rain coming down the mountain which stirred up a fair amount of mud and dirt so it wasn't clear and "emerald" like was pictured but it was still neat to see and I still enjoyed a refreshing swim in the water along with a few others who braved the rain and chill. After the tour we walked around the port area again and bought some local arts/crafts. This seemed to be a good island if you're looking for that sort of stuff.

 

4. BASSETERRE, ST KITTS & NEVIS

Here we did the Dolphin push, pull, swim excursion at the local enclosed bay where they house several dolphins. They would take a small group of us in with a trainer who would then go around having us interact with the dolphins including being pushed and pulled by the dolphins. Overall an amazing experience. They have their own photographer (and they don't allow you to take your own camera in the water) so be prepared for expensive photo packages. Overall still enjoyed the experience.

 

We weren't a fan of the actual port area. Again seemed to pretty much just be a sectioned off area of shops for the tourists and not much around it though we didn't go exploring outside the immediate port area.

 

5. CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS

This was the only island we had been to before and we knew we wanted to go back to Magens Bay, a gorgeous beach. So we just hopped on a taxi and headed to the beach for most of the morning. The taxi was about $8 per person if i recall in addition to $5 entry to the beach which overall was more than we remember it being on our first visit. It was also more crowded than we remember it being though was still an amazing beach with clear water. Probably not the best place if you want to snorkel as I don't think there was much to look at under the water there but a good beach to lay at and do some swimming. While we were there was a large private yacht anchored in the middle of the bay which took away some from the natural beauty and I kind of wish they didn't allow any boats in the bay.

 

After that we took a taxi downtown to walk around the shopping area and that was a little disappointing. Again seemed to be a lot of non-local/non-native stores and more sales-person type pressure while we were window shopping that I do not like. The locals were getting ready for upcoming Carnival celebration and building stages and decorating which was neat to see.

 

6. SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

And back to San Juan. We had flown in a day early so had already spent a good amount of time walking around pretty much all of Old San Juan visiting the forts which I would highly recommend, just be prepared for a lot of walking and stair climbing. On the northwest corner is Castillo San Felipe del Morro and on the expansive greenery area in front of the fort were TONS of kites being flown as it was very windy. I'm not sure if there was a specific festival going on or if that's a normal weekend activity there but it was actually very cool to watch the various kites being flown.

 

 

Overall we had a blast and would sail with them again in a heartbeat. This time we focused a little more on doing some excursions so most days we were up fairly early to get going and would come back for a late lunch, then clean up, relax and do dinner. Again we were definitely on the younger age spectrum of the ship's demographics (mid-30's) though certainly not "party animals" so I didn't mind a more relaxed, laid back cruise and would much rather lay back with a good scotch and cigar then dance the night away at a loud crowded bar.

 

Overall no real significant complaints. Food was good, excursions were terrific, ship was terrific and we enjoyed minute of it.

[Cruising Princess]

Great job outlining your experience. Thanks for the review.

[sound_guy0918]

Great review. Sounds like you had a similar experience to what we did in '13 which is why we are booked on the Summit again. Cheers!

[LollyMoz]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Good info.

[Clarea]

Well-written report, thanks.

[uptowne001]

Thanks so much for writing this review!! Me and my husband are in our mid 30's as well and will be sailing on Summit in July. We will have a little one at home as well and are looking for a nice relaxing time! So glad to hear you all found that on the Summit!

[Texed]

Thank you sooooooo much for posting. :)

[LA_CA_GAL]

Nicely done.

 

One question, what times were the movies offered?

[kpun]

Glad you had a great time! Thanks for taking the time to write a review!

[Keith1010]

This is an absolutely wonderful review.

 

Keith

[kenevenpar]

Thanks for the honest review. I enjoyed it.

[conquesodor]

Thanks for your review. It sounds like you appreciate the same things about Celebrity that I do. I'm looking forward to being on the Summit next weeK!

[DrivesLikeMario]

We'll be on the same sailing next year and are hoping there won't be a ton of kids. It'll be the week after Easter Day next year so I don't think I can compare it to your cruise because Easter was so early this year. Wish I could. I'd like to get an idea of how many kids to expect that week.

 

Thanks for the review!

[IsanTom]

We'll be on the same sailing next year and are hoping there won't be a ton of kids. It'll be the week after Easter Day next year so I don't think I can compare it to your cruise because Easter was so early this year. Wish I could. I'd like to get an idea of how many kids to expect that week.

 

Thanks for the review!

o

I'm on the Thanksgiving Cruise this year and we do not expect a huge amount

of children. You could be involved with some Spring Break Cruisers which could

include many children, but enjoy your cruise to it's fullest!

[DrivesLikeMario]

o

I'm on the Thanksgiving Cruise this year and we do not expect a huge amount

of children. You could be involved with some Spring Break Cruisers which could

include many children, but enjoy your cruise to it's fullest!

 

Thanks, I'm sure we'll have a good time no matter what. ;) We're going the week after Easter Day and I'm hoping most people will be off in March or the week before Easter.

[bagelme]

Thanks very much for posting this very thorough review! Will be on Summit for the first time in October and happy to hear good feedback about the new rooftop entertainment area as well.

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

[FLcardio]

Thanks so much for writing this review!! Me and my husband are in our mid 30's as well and will be sailing on Summit in July. We will have a little one at home as well and are looking for a nice relaxing time! So glad to hear you all found that on the Summit!

 

No problem! Yea we had a blast. I would say that there wasn't a lot of folks our age on our cruise, there were some and we would meet and talk to some on our excursions but honestly we weren't cruising to go party and meet people. For us this was leave the kids at home, get away and relax, so if that's your goal then you won't be disappointed.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[FLcardio]

Nicely done.

 

One question, what times were the movies offered?

 

I'll have to find one of the daily schedules but the ones we went to were around 10pm-10:15 start time I believe.

[FLcardio]

A few other shots of the room and out the veranda.

[richsea]

No problem! Yea we had a blast. I would say that there wasn't a lot of folks our age on our cruise, there were some and we would meet and talk to some on our excursions but honestly we weren't cruising to go party and meet people. For us this was leave the kids at home, get away and relax, so if that's your goal then you won't be disappointed.

 

Thanks for your review FLcardio, it sounds like you had a great time. We've been on Summit for 5 sailings, & had a great cruise each time.

 

uptowne001, you will most likely find that your July cruise will find a much younger demographic onboard Summit, as school is out & more younger families with children will be sailing. There should be many in your age group, & still plenty of places on the ship to just chill. Have fun!