Live From the Summit, 8/7 to 8/31, from an Aqua passenger viewpoint

[abbydancer2003]

4 minutes ago, IWillGoAnywhere26 said:

Thanks for your detailed response. We ate each night at 5 also in order to ensure a socially distanced table. The hostess in Cosmopolitan was  great about accommodating us. We prefer to eat later but decided to change our habits to reduce our chances of testing covid positive. In July I tested positive after an 8 day Equinox cruise so I was nervous about this one. We were very careful, wearing masks much of the time. We will follow your suggestions and do our best to stay healthy. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. I'll enjoy following along the remainder of your trip. Stay safe!

For what it's worth, I just read an article in a local paper that says that if you've had covid in the last six months, wait on the new booster that's coming out since you'll still have protection from that.  I had it in May, so I guess I'll wait until November for my booster.

[bunzini]

19 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

For cruise/water arrival you must submit the form/ArriveCan app max 72h before sailing AND you can register your first port if call from day 1-30. 
When you choose Boat/Marine arrival you have the arrival time 1-30days onwards. 
So fill it out BEFORE you walk the gangway to your ship. Then you are all good to sail. 
You will fill in your stateroom number. And answer some health questions. When everything is filled out, you will receive your barcode for arrival/sign of proof for arriveCan. 
 

As for arrival on air, you only have 72h timeframe. 

Thank you for your detailed response.  This really helps to clarify things.  It is our first time doing this, again thank you!

 

[cruisin0218]

On 8/19/2022 at 7:25 PM, Lastdance said:

if you see another...it has been all over the news and creating havoc killing trees!  People are being asked to kill these types of bugs...sorry, I forgot the name!  Just do not bring one back with you!

I don't think that is a lantern fly because the lantern fly has short legs.

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, IWillGoAnywhere26 said:

Thanks for your detailed response. We ate each night at 5 also in order to ensure a socially distanced table. The hostess in Cosmopolitan was  great about accommodating us. We prefer to eat later but decided to change our habits to reduce our chances of testing covid positive. In July I tested positive after an 8 day Equinox cruise so I was nervous about this one. We were very careful, wearing masks much of the time. We will follow your suggestions and do our best to stay healthy. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. I'll enjoy following along the remainder of your trip. Stay safe!

One extra thought. Another very beneficial perk for going at 5 pm and sitting at the same table, or at least in the same area, is that you get the same waiter pretty much the entire cruise, which has always a plus for us. 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in St John’s, Greenland and it is a beautiful day! As I mentioned earlier, we’re going to go on a self-guided tour up to the Johnson Eco Park today which is near the top of the hill with the castle on it. It’s the same place we hiked to on the last leg. However, we’re going to explore a different section this time. Or at least that’s the plan! 😁

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

[Cruise a holic]

On 8/9/2022 at 3:06 PM, luvcruzing said:

That looks like a lantern fly.

 

https://abc7ny.com/spotted-lantern-flies-north-bergen-invasive-bug-extermination/12109156/

We were on the Oasis of the Seas a couple of weeks ago and had the same bugs on our balcony.  Didn't use it!  

[TeeRick]

7 hours ago, cruisin0218 said:

I don't think that is a lantern fly because the lantern fly has short legs.

Definitely not a Spotted Lantern Fly.  They have taken over where I live in PA.  They cause a lot of damage.  I think Iceland and northern latitudes are much too cold for them to survive.

 

 

[bunnyette]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We have arrived in St John’s, Greenland and it is a beautiful day! As I mentioned earlier, we’re going to go on a self-guided tour up to the Johnson Eco Park today which is near the top of the hill with the castle on it. It’s the same place we hiked to on the last leg. However, we’re going to explore a different section this time. Or at least that’s the plan! 😁

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

I thought St John’s was in Newfoundland 😉.  You got very lucky with the weather.  Enjoy!

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, bunnyette said:

I thought St John’s was in Newfoundland 😉.  You got very lucky with the weather.  Enjoy!

Good catch! It’s all becoming a blur! 😂

[silkismom]

Ken, I can't remember if Aqua bathrooms have a night light, or should I bring mine? Thanks

[Ken the cruiser]

After eating a tasty breakfast at Blu and letting it digest for a little while, we headed out for our second adventure to St John’s, Newfoundland just a little before 10 am. We first checked the weather outside on deck 11 and realized we didn’t need our coats as it was in the 70s with the radiant heat from a sunny day pounding down. 
 

 
So once we shed the jackets, we were off to the Johnson Eco Park to check out the stone work area. This time we walked straight up Signal Hill as we learned from last time it was a much shorter walk, although a little steeper, than Battery Road.

 

 
Once we got to the entrance, we enjoyed the scenery while resting a bit before we began our walk in the park.

 

 

Note: remember this picture as I will refer to it later.

 

  
The walk was quite interesting with the trails relatively flat, which was a big positive as we were a tad winded after walking straight uphill to get here. 😁

 

 

 
These were anchors some of the fishers in the area used “back in the day”.

  
What’s interesting about fireplaces back then, building a permanent chimney in a home was illegal until 1792! See the first paragraph in the below picture.
 

 

 

And then, there it was off in the distance daring us to make the final trek up to the top of the hill! 😂

 
So as we headed out the Stoneworks Walk area, we said what the heck. If we couldn’t make it all the way up, at least it would be downhill the rest of the way. Of course, we had to stop and smell the “Scabrosas” along the way

 

  
as well as check out the local wildlife! 😁

 

 

 

 

But we tried to keep our uphill pace under the speed limit! 😂

 

 
Then we started seeing signs that we were getting close to the top! Just a few more steps …

 

 
And then we were there and weren’t as tired as we thought we would be, especially after seeing the views from up above!

 

 

 

 

Remember the picture we took at the Stoneworks park, which is just on the other side of the white building in the center of the picture? This is pretty much the same picture only taken from on top of the hill.

 

  

 

 
Then it was time to head back down the hill, only on a different path at least part of the way. 

 

 

Of course, we had to stop just one more time to admire the wildlife before heading back down Signal Hill to the ship. 😁

 

 

 
If anyone is interested, our self-guided walking tour took a little under 3 hours.

 

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, silkismom said:

Ken, I can't remember if Aqua bathrooms have a night light, or should I bring mine? Thanks

They definitely do and it stays on all the time. So no worries about finding where the switch is.

[silkismom]

Thank you!

 

[Oville]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

After eating a tasty breakfast at Blu and letting it digest for a little while, we headed out for our second adventure to St John’s, Newfoundland just a little before 10 am. We first checked the weather outside on deck 11 and realized we didn’t need our coats as it was in the 70s with the radiant heat from a sunny day pounding down. 
 

 
So once we shed the jackets, we were off to the Johnson Eco Park to check out the stone work area. This time we walked straight up Signal Hill as we learned from last time it was a much shorter walk, although a little steeper, than Battery Road.

 

 
Once we got to the entrance, we enjoyed the scenery while resting a bit before we began our walk in the park.

 

 

Note: remember this picture as I will refer to it later.

 

  
The walk was quite interesting with the trails relatively flat, which was a big positive as we were a tad winded after walking straight uphill to get here. 😁

 

 

 
These were anchors some of the fishers in the area used “back in the day”.

  
What’s interesting about fireplaces back then, building a permanent chimney in a home was illegal until 1792! See the first paragraph in the below picture.
 

 

 

And then, there it was off in the distance daring us to make the final trek up to the top of the hill! 😂

 
So as we headed out the Stoneworks Walk area, we said what the heck. If we couldn’t make it all the way up, at least it would be downhill the rest of the way. Of course, we had to stop and smell the “Scabrosas” along the way

 

  
as well as check out the local wildlife! 😁

 

 

 

 

But we tried to keep our uphill pace under the speed limit! 😂

 

 
Then we started seeing signs that we were getting close to the top! Just a few more steps …

 

 
And then we were there and weren’t as tired as we thought we would be, especially after seeing the views from up above!

 

 

 

 

Remember the picture we took at the Stoneworks park, which is just on the other side of the white building in the center of the picture? This is pretty much the same picture only taken from on top of the hill.

 

  

 

 
Then it was time to head back down the hill, only on a different path at least part of the way. 

 

 

Of course, we had to stop just one more time to admire the wildlife before heading back down Signal Hill to the ship. 😁

 

 

 
If anyone is interested, our self-guided walking tour took a little under 3 hours.

 

 

Ken, you’ll sleep well tonight.  Great pix.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, Oville said:

Ken, you’ll sleep well tonight.  Great pix.

Thats for sure as the Aqua cabins have very comfortable beds! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

18 hours ago, IWillGoAnywhere26 said:

Thanks for your detailed response. We ate each night at 5 also in order to ensure a socially distanced table. The hostess in Cosmopolitan was  great about accommodating us. We prefer to eat later but decided to change our habits to reduce our chances of testing covid positive. In July I tested positive after an 8 day Equinox cruise so I was nervous about this one. We were very careful, wearing masks much of the time. We will follow your suggestions and do our best to stay healthy. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. I'll enjoy following along the remainder of your trip. Stay safe!

This was at 5:25 pm in Blu. 
  

 
and this, by comparison, was at 6:25 pm in Blu this evening. 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

This evening after dining in Blu, we were done by 6:25 pm, so we were off to the early show to watch the comedian we saw on the last leg, Sean Kent. 
 

 
Then we headed off to watch the Battle of the Genders Game Show in the Rendezvous Lounge, which is always funny!

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 10 - Aug 28 - Sea day

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We left St John’s, Newfoundland, around 5:20 pm and will be in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2 days. 
 

[wrk2cruise]

Seems like the guest entertainers were happy to stay onboard for the B2B.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, wrk2cruise said:

Seems like the guest entertainers were happy to stay onboard for the B2B.

Except for Sean Kent. Rich mentioned he boarded the ship today, so he must have flown back from Reykjavik when everyone disembarked after the first leg. But Karen and Craig definitely stayed on for both legs.

[Ken the cruiser]

The Interactive Motown Party with the production cast was at 10 pm tonight up in the Sky Lounge, so of course we had to go. 😁

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We talked this evening with CD Rich Gleason and he said there were about 860 crew members onboard, and they are a little short staffed in the beverage department. Unfortunately, with hiring being so competitive lately in the cruise business, it kind of makes sense. But from our experiences so far, we have only high praises for all that the crew members we have come in contact with have done for us these past 20+ days on the Summit! 😁

 

Also found out the ship got a lot of poor ratings from some of the passengers on the last leg, especially from those that decided to take a taxi to the airport rather than book a transfer with Celebrity. Remember those pictures we took on transition day?

  

 

 

 

[abbydancer2003]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We talked this evening with CD Rich Gleason and he said there were about 860 crew members onboard, and they are a little short staffed in the beverage department. Unfortunately, with hiring being so competitive lately in the cruise business, it kind of makes sense. But from our experiences so far, we have only high praises for all that the crew members we have come in contact with have done for us these past 20+ days on the Summit! 😁

 

Also found out the ship got a lot of poor ratings from some of the passengers on the last leg, especially from those that decided to take a taxi to the airport rather than book a transfer with Celebrity. Remember those pictures we took on transition day?

  

 

 

 

On our recent Eclipse cruise, we decided to take a cab to the airport.  Wait was a little over an hour.

[Ken the cruiser]

We went to another very interesting Brain lecture this morning about the future of AI.