Live from the Summit - Christmas at Sea (Dec 21-26, 2023) 🎅🏻🎄🎅🏻🌴

[81Zoomie]

Happy Holidays to all!  And what better to ring in the holiday spirit then with a little Vitamin Sea?  This was a somewhat spur of the moment decision to book a cruise.  Our children are not coming until next week, so the thought of cruising over Christmas was more appealing when compared to a quiet house.  This cruise is our Christmas present to ourselves!  The Summit fit the parameters for sailing dates and affordability.  Itinerary was not important to us this time.  
 

This will be our first time on the Summit and our second time on the M class.  We were in a Sky Suite on the Millennium, so this will be a different experience.  Actually, this cruise is a bit of an experiment for us.  We booked a guarantee verandah with no perks.  We are going to use our Elite perks to see how the Happy Hour benefit and package discounts work for us.  We received a decent cabin assignment forward on deck 9.  Many thanks to @Stem to Stern for posting a pic of the internet pricing from the Daily on the Summit ($144).  After seeing this we purchased one premium internet for $77 pre cruise with our discount.  We are bringing 2 bottles of wine and will gladly pay the corkage to drink something we know is good.  Other than that, we will be tied to whatever is offered at the Elite Happy Hour.  We will be eating in the main dining room for the first time in a long while and selected the late seating.  Like I said, this is a test for us.

 

Our plan was to leave at 11am the day before the cruise to beat rush hour down south.  We estimated a little over 4 hours driving time.  My last work meeting ran a little longer than expected and I was a little frazzled getting out the door.  We finally got going about 11:30.  We had been on the road an hour when suddenly I blurted out, “Passports?”  DH replies, “Yep, in your purse.”  One small problem…. My hands were full when I stepped into the garage and I grabbed everything except my purse 🥹.  So we proceeded to about face and drove back home to get my purse and the passports.  I was grateful we were not already in Miami, not trying to catch a flight, and were simply going to spend the night in a hotel.  DH was incredibly calm and collected with my error ❤️. There is a first time for everything.  From now on we will confirm the essentials before driving off.

 

Needless to say, our drive was a little longer than expected.  The stretch from Palm Beach to Miami on I-95 was now in the heart of rush hour and then in the dark.  Good news is that it was not raining.  We finally arrived in Miami and made our way to the Hotel Indigo.  DH used his free IHG night.  It is in a very convenient location to the Underline park, a Publix, Dunkin, some restaurants, and Brickell Ave.  The views from the 24th floor were amazing.  The Indigo has a very industrial motif with lots of concrete and we found it dimly lit.  The room was a nice size, the shower was hot, and the bed was comfortable.  We even had an “infinite verandah” 🤣.

 

We decided to eat dinner at the hotel.  We had read good things on cruise critic.  We had the restaurant all to ourselves!  DH had the shrimp pasta and I had a pepperoni pizza.  Both were very good and the chef came out to see how we liked our meals.  DH had a beer and I had a glass of  very drinkable Malbec.  I have included a pic of the hotel’s price of wines for a comparison after Celebrity’s recent increase.  The hotel was a bit more affordable, and as a bonus, we got 50% off because we ordered during happy hour!

 

We were a bit tired from our travels and decided to turn in early.

[cruisin 07]

Following. Will be on the Summit Jan 8 and arriving 2 days early in Miami.

[PG_Cruiser]

Who is the cruise director on Summit now?

[81Zoomie]

It’s cruise day!  Neither one of us slept late.  DH went for a walk and I showered.  We went for a walkabout to find some coffee and a small bite to eat.  We grabbed some fruit at Publix and got coffee and bagels at the Toasted Bagel.  We ate at the fixed tabled under the rail line.  Miami has done a really nice job of creating a welcoming environment under the train tracks.  We packed up, fueled the car, and headed to the port.

 

The port of Miami is a pleasure compared to Port Everglades.  We zipped right in. Parking is very convenient to the terminal.  We were surprised by the few available spaces at 10:30 in the morning.  Still, all in all, a low stress activity.  We checked in, had to sit for about 10 minutes, and were then on the ship.  There are lots of family groups and children as you would expect on a holiday.  Our cabin was available for luggage drop when we arrived.  I also gave all the surfaces, switches, and handles a good spray of Lysol. Love the travel size!

 

The Summit is all decked out in holiday decor.  It is much more festive the the Reflection was a few weeks ago.  The interior of the ship looks very sleek with soothing colors.  Our cabin looks great as well.  Love the walk in shower with glass door!  There is so much storage in the cabin!  No complaints.  The balcony has reclining chairs with a neck cushion.  The desk chair fits under the desk.  There is no funky uncomfortable Hoppen furniture. The exterior of the public areas and ship are showing some age in many places, but the interior sparkles.

We walked the ship from bottom to top.  Cafe Al Bachio was surprisingly empty.  I was so excited to find coconut macaroons!❤️!  They are my favorites 😁 We also surveyed the wine selection in Cellar Masters.  Wine list is pictured due to all the recent interest.

 

We ate lunch in the Oceanview.  I am not a huge fan of the buffet chaos.  However, the spacing of the stations and the multiple seating areas appears to cut down on the noise and traffic jams.  We had a very pleasant light lunch.  
 

After unpacking it was up to the Lido for sail away.  We have t sailed out of Miami in quite some time and have forgotten all the large yachts and beautiful homes on the water.  All I can say is wow!  300 ft yachts are like mini cruise ships!  The pool area was loud and the music was thumping.  We retreated to the solarium to watch the sail out.  Presently camped on our verandah watching the Miami skyline literally fade into the sunset.  We are so happy to be at sea again!
 

 

[81Zoomie]

7 minutes ago, PG_Cruiser said:

Who is the cruise director on Summit now?

Alex.

[Barwick Cruiser]

Looks like you’re off to a great start!

Hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday sailing! 🎄 🎅 🚢 

Cathy

[Stem to Stern]

Belated Bon Voyage.  It was really tough to walk off the ship this morning, but I am looking forward to sailing vicariously here.  Cheers!

[CardowMD]

I really love the Summit, one of my favorite Celebrity ships! Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

[81Zoomie]

Day 2 - Good morning from Key West!

 

Last light was rather low key… no pun intended!  We spend a lot of time on the verandah watching the world go by with a cocktail.  I planned ahead and grabbed a bowl of chips at lunch so we would have something to munch.

 

We did notice there was some type of minor leak in the bathroom and informed the room attendant.  There was a little water on the floor the entire day. While we were getting ready for dinner our toilet started rapidly flushing in succession all by itself.  I had visions of @Jim_Iain ‘s experience with a toilet geyser.  We opened the door to the hallway and there was a plumber working on the plumbing.  We decided it was time to give him some space to work.

 

It was just before 7 we headed up to the show.  It was the comedian Mike Head.  He was good, not outstanding in our opinion.  There were 2 ladies who spent their day drinking who got up mid show and moved to the front row.  Between their beachy fishnet attire and his commentary about their behavior, that aspect was very funny.

 

It was it quite time for late seating when the show ended.  Earlier in the day the person at the dining desk said the should be ready by 8:15 in the evening.  We passed a little time walking through the shops and then sitting in Cellar Masters.  Eventually it was time for dinner.  One comment is that the items on the menu are not very interesting.  At least not to us.  There were also no upcharge items on the menu, no filet, no sirloin, no lobster for those who are interested.  DH had soup and the seafood orzo (👍) and I, on the other hand, created a bit of interesting dialog 🙃. I have a food allergy, soy, so I have to be safely selective and notify the staff.  This has never been an issue on any cruise and I usually know what to avoid. No issues on the Reflection last month.  However, note to all, it seems that Celebrity has succumbed to cheaper ingredients, particularly soybean oil.  I had originally ordered escargot and the lemon peppered chicken.  I was surprised when the waiter returned and said the escargot was breaded in soy meal and the chicken marinated with soybean oil.  As it turned out, I couldn’t order escargot, any kind of chicken, or any other entree on the menu, or any potatoes, etc.  A HUGE thank you to the chef who pulled out a virgin chicken breast and grilled chicken and vegetables for me.  Luckily I was served the chocolate cake for dessert, but no vanilla ice cream as it has soy in it. The waiter did a great job keeping me soy free. I was also able to preorder my meal for the next evening.

 

We were tired after dinner and decided to skip the silent disco and return to the cabin.

 

[81Zoomie]

It is a stunning day in Key West!   A little cool at 67 deg, but it will warm up.  We have been here when it is hot and humid, and today it is most pleasant.  We woke up just as we were approaching the dock.  We found the bed to be comfortable, the A/C worked well, and there was no hallway noise.  We did have some wind noise overnight and will try to alleviate that tonight.

 

We had previously decided to start the day at the gym just like at home.  Not a novel idea.  We had hoped most folks would be anxious to get ashore.  Not quite so.  The gym was very busy.  After about 30 minutes we decided we would try again later in the day.

 

We wanted a simple and quiet breakfast.  The Elite breakfast in Tuscan was the perfect solution.  We arrived at 8:30 as the first guests.  It was just lovely.  We split a fruit plate and each had the salmon platter.  DH had a berry smoothie and I had a cappuccino.  I did cut the fruit before I took the pic.  Just the right amount of food to start the day.  There are large round windows in Tuscan overlooking the water, but they are covered by fixed louvers.  This is an interesting design decision since they lock the view of the water.

 

Overnight, we noticed that our bathroom leak was not fixed.  It’s not the toilet (thankfully), but is coming from the sink cabinet.  Definitely not an obvious source.  If I haven’t seen a drip it would still be a mystery. We showed the room steward and he will call the plumber back.

 

We have no plans for town with the exception of eating lunch and walking about.  The solarium seemed like the perfect spot to read with a gorgeous view.  This would also give the plumber an opportunity to workin the bathroom.  I took some pics of the small plates available in the spa cafe.  When we went to grab towels for the loungers at 9 am there were none in the solarium or anywhere else around the pool.  The towel bins were not filled until 10 am.  
 

It’s warming up outside.  Time to go ashore!

 

[locksley10]

I was surprised when the waiter returned and said the escargot was breaded in soy meal 

I was not aware that escargot had breading on it.

[81Zoomie]

1 hour ago, locksley10 said:

I was surprised when the waiter returned and said the escargot was breaded in soy meal 

I was not aware that escargot had breading on it.

Neither was I.  I was wondering if something got lost in the translation.  

[81Zoomie]

It was so nice to have an unscheduled day.  We finally left the ship shortly before noon.  The weather is amazing today.  The last time we were here we were trying to find shade and were roasting.  So much nicer like this.

 

Key West is a very eclectic and artistic town.  You can find it all here.  From low end mass produced art, to hand made jewelry, to high end tens of thousands of dollar pieces.  There are tiny quaint old wooden homes and large mansions tucked away on small alleys.  It’s a very interesting place to wander.  There are many restaurants and bars.  DH picked one he read about on Yelp.  We had a great lunch at Kaya.  I had a Mermaid Martini, DH a Crazy Lady beer, and we split the conch fritters.  Then came a fish sandwich and Mahi tacos.  All was delicious!  I wish Celebrity could replicate some of these local Caribbean inspired dishes. The cost of living has skyrocketed on Key West so we always try to donate to the service economy when we visit.  
 

We sauntered back to the ship and swung by Al Bachio for dessert.  DH had the coconut cake. You guessed it, macaroons for me 😋  Today they were chocolate 😍 Now it is lovely to sit on the balcony and read.  We will chill until sail away and the elite happy hour.

 

[81Zoomie]

And I almost forgot.  I love Key Lime Pie, but not sure about this combination 😝😝

[Texed]

30 minutes ago, 81Zoomie said:

Key West is a very eclectic and artistic town.  You can find it all here.  From low end mass produced art, to hand made jewelry, to high end tens of thousands of dollar pieces.

 

You are so right.  I love looking at some of the Atocha and other treasure ship coins.  😊

[locksley10]

Thank you for taking the time for this review the photos are wonderful.

We sailed the Summit 3 times in the past year and loved the ship and crew!

[hcat]

been there many times, but it was fun to see it through your photos!  always an  easy fun day..!

 

thanks for sharing!

[81Zoomie]

Day 3 - Good morning from the Caribbean just off the northwest coast of Cuba.

 

we cleaned up yesterday evening and decided to watch the sail away from the Sky View lounge.  Timing was excellent because it coincided with our first indulgence in the Elite happy hour.  The lounge was surprisingly empty and we found seats in the front at the windows.  It was a great place to watch the sunset, follow the ships path through the buoys/channel, and watch the pilot boat.  We each had a cocktail as we enjoyed the panoramic view.  We definitely miss the forward facing lounge on Edge class, even in the Retreat.

 

The show “Turn Back Time” was very good.  It was a male and female vocalist couple and the man accompanied on guitar.  Both were good singers of eighties hits, and the lady really could really belt it out.  They were accompanied by the Celebrity band.  Once again, props to Celebrity for having a real band.

 

Then it was on to dinner.  I preordered Escargot and the Israeli Couscous Cake (with asparagus spears, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini ribbons) to avoid any issues.  When we sat down the assistant server asked us if we wanted gluten free bread “because”.  We said the regular bread was fine.  DH ordered the pasta fagioli soup and Australian Sea Bass.  His appetizer came and mine followed by about 5 minutes.  Then we waited and waited for our main course.  His looked very well presented.  The bowl below is my “Couscous Cake.”  I was a little shocked by the really salty couscous with a couple of diced zucchini and pepper pieces.  I hunted for the small vegetable pieces and nibbled on the pasta.  I didn’t complain.  When asked how I enjoyed it, I was honest.  I missed the tomatoes and asparagus and zucchini ribbons.  Then the Maitre’d came over and explained in great detail why I could not eat the normal vegetables. Time for dessert.  The waiter handed DH a menu and took his order.  Then he looked at me and said,  “I have to ask the chef what you can eat.”  He left and after about 10 minutes of waiting so did we.  Never fear… we got great dessert up in the Oceanview 👍. I had rum raisin and chocolate ice cream and DH had and assortment of cake.

 

We sailed Celebrity 4 times is 2022 and just got off the Reflection on Dec 3rd.  There has never been an issue working with my one food allergy on X, HAL, Azamara, or Ponant.  I either pre order or steer clear of anything that could contain soy.  I have never before been told there is nothing on the entree list suitable for me. I am appreciative for the accommodation, and understand it takes special prep. I just wish I my dinner wasn’t accompanied by a lecture and drama.
 

On a positive note: The HIGHLIGHT of the dinner was when DH asked why there is nothing listed for Christmas Eve and Day.  We were told it’s a Secret, but they are planning something special 🎅🏻❤️🎅🏻🎄  Looking at the menu today it appears they have added Frog Legs 🐸 on Christmas Eve and broiled lobster 🦞 tails on Christmas Day!

 

We took full advantage of the sea day by sleeping in this morning.  The temps have wormed up a bit to the upper 70s and the seas are relatively calm.  We decided to do breakfast in 2 parts.   We had cappuccino and tea with fresh fruit down in Tuscan.  It is very tranquil down there and the servers are so happy.  It’s a lovely way to start the day.  Then we went up to the buffet and had waffles with sausage and bacon.  DH found a table by the window!  We ate watching the mountainous coast of Cuba pass in the distance.

 

Cruise director, Alex, announced a host of activities planned for today.  Pool volleyball, bean bag toss, gingerbread house decorating, bingo, pickleball, golf putting, Merengue dance class, as well as the casino and normal daily activities.  It feels like there are more activities than usual on this cruise.  There is definitely something for everyone!

 

We walked through the pool area after breakfast and it was quite empty.  The Solarium, on the other hand, had almost all the seating already occupied.  I got a cup of coffee to go at the Spa Cafe and we are now enjoying the view from our verandah.  It’s great to be in shorts and flip flops at the holidays 🩴🩴.

 

 

 

 

[81Zoomie]

Walk about prior to lunch found the passenger versus crew bean bag too in action by the pool.  There was a nice variety of food in the Oceanview for lunch.  I opted for salad followed with mango sorbet for dessert.  Mixology is going on in the Martini Bar and there is a singer in Cafe Al Bachio.  We walked through the casino and donated a little cash to the slot machines in short order.  It’s a rather odd assortment of machines with a 50 cent minimum.  Table game mins start at $10.  It’s a fun Dayat sea!

[DMS1]

Thanks for the pictures. The Christmas decorations are wonderful.

We are going on the Summit for first time in February. Can't wait to sail on this old lady.

 

 

[81Zoomie]

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at sea.  It certainly was lively in the public areas.  We spent a lot of time on the balcony.  We enjoyed happy hour and the beautiful sunset in the Skyview lounge again.  It is our favorite bar on the Summit.  I had previously collected a few snacks to have before our cocktails.

 

Following happy hour we went to the Captain’s welcome prior to the show.  We have noticed that all the Greek Captains are quite funny with wonderful dry senses of humor.  Captain Kris was no exception. In standard fashion, he introduced his leadership team.  The lady officers were wearing festive headbands 🎅🏻🦌🎄.  The singers and dancers followed.  It wasn’t my favorite show ever, but the aerialist couple was spectacular!!!

 

We went off to dinner with a new day clean start attitude.  The wait staff and maitre’d were on their top game.  I had Caesar salad and prime rib (medium). Both were good.  DH had his medium rare.  The waiter had a special chocolate tart made for my dessert.  It was a nice touch ❤️. I preordered my Christmas Eve dinner and included the menu below.  Celebrity is certainly trying to make the holiday special.  There will be another special menu for Christmas Day as well.

 

We had a very relaxing Day at sea!

[81Zoomie]

Day 4 - Merry Christmas Eve from Cozumel!

 

We started our day in Tuscan as usual.  We really were not that hungry, so we decided to share the ultimate platter for 2. It was a little smaller than we remembered in the past, but we didn’t need much more this morning. 
 

After breakfast we walked up top to watch our neighbor for the day pull in.  The MSC Seaside makes the Summit look like the smaller regal lady that she is.  We also walked through the Skyview lounge and took some pictures.  The angles and circular cutouts create interesting optics.  And what did hubby find…?  He found a reindeer duck in one of the cutouts 😁. This one does not have a note attached, so I am posting here for the secret Santa duck who hid it.  I will place it somewhere to bring a smile to someone else.

 

We went ashore simply to walk about.  I actually prefer the port area by the Carnival pier.  It was about 9:30 and the stores were all open.  There is no shortage of jewelry, t-shirts, and tequila.  I did get “pulled” into one of the tequila shops.  Before I knew it Iwas sampling old, new, spiced, and coffee tequila.  Good thing I ate something for breakfast!  However, as we learned before, the local tequila is probably not worth $280 a bottle 🤣.  We passed.  Our time on shore was quick.  The nearly empty ship was very appealing to us.  It’s quiet 👍.

 

This is the perfect day to get my obligatory cruise hot dog and fries.  The line will be short at the pool grill this afternoon.  Meanwhile, the solarium is peaceful and glorious.  The windows are open and a beautiful breeze is blowing.

 

More to come later as we have been told the ship is hosting a special guest pool side at 5 pm 🎅🏻.

[Arzeena]

Enjoying your review.

 

[Stem to Stern]

4 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

It wasn’t my favorite show ever, but the aerialist couple was spectacular!!!

In the event that we end up back on Summit in the near future, may I ask what show this was?  Tragically we are terrible about making it to the shows, but for spectacular aerialists I would make a point to get us to the theater on time.  Wasn’t Captain Chris absolutely charming?  He chatted with us at great length last cruise and was patient enough for a multi-pose photo op.  He seems like a real stand-up guy.

[81Zoomie]

1 minute ago, Stem to Stern said:

In the event that we end up back on Summit in the near future, may I ask what show this was?  Tragically we are terrible about making it to the shows, but for spectacular aerialists I would make a point to get us to the theater on time.  Wasn’t Captain Chris absolutely charming?  He chatted with us at great length last cruise and was patient enough for a multi-pose photo op.  He seems like a real stand-up guy.

The show was Sound Track @Stem to Stern.  Loved your side by side review.  We would like to try the MSC Yacht Club after reading your thoughts 👍