Live: Apr 20, 2024 Summit 14 Night Panama Canal Westbound Cruise!

[mahdnc]

Sadly the string quartet was removed as well: 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Mummo said:

Thank you David for the wonderful nametags and this post. I wish we had been able to access it while we were on the ship because there were so many good hints. 

We will see you in less than a year on the TransPacific cruise.

AND, we will be chatting on that thread until we embark in Sydney.

 

 

Linda, I very much look forward to seeing you again on the other side of the Pacific!

[bjahil47]

Thank you for a wonderful review!  

[mahdnc]

Here is our stateroom attendant, Gede (pronounced like “good day”). He is from Indonesia and fairly experienced. He last worked aboard Millennium. 
 

Gede was pretty efficient and generally we were pleased with his efforts. It took a couple of days early in our cruise for him to understand our schedule so that he could get our cabins made up while we were out.  Also our cabin was missing a few things at the beginning of the sailing like the room service breakfast cards and laundry form that we had to chase him down to get for us.  On the other hand, when we pointed out a few things with our cabin that needed repair, he saw to it that it was addressed by maintenance fairly quickly. 

 

Gede was responsible for the aft cabins (including ours and @julieawill) and a few cabins on the port side of the ship.  Because our aft cabin door was on the starboard side hallway, we didn’t see him that much as we went about our day. 
 

We did run into Oana from Romania quite a lot as she had 17 cabins on the starboard side of the ship including @Bob29321. She seemed to be always out there cleaning. We would say hi to her at least 5-6 times a day as we were going or returning from our cabin. We asked her why she seemed to be always working. She explained that in addition to performing the daily tasks that go into servicing a cabin, she likes to devote extra time to performing a deep clean in a portion of the cabin (she would rotate the portion of the cabin that needed to be deep cleaned). She said that is how her mother raised her. Pretty impressive. 
 

It is always amazing to me how cheerful these stateroom attendants were every minute of every day.  Telling us with a smile to have a nice day and then turning around to clean a bathroom.

Edited May 8 by mahdnc

[Bob29321]

Just curious did anyone else catch a case of Norovirus. My brother, sister-in-law and I ended up with cases the night before disembarkation?

 

Also sorry for not getting a slot pull going but I guess the best way to get a hold of people is before sailing. DUH

[Bob29321]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Here is our stateroom attendant, Gede (pronounced like “good day”). He is from Indonesia and fairly experienced. He last worked aboard Millennium. 
 

Gede was pretty efficient and generally we were pleased with his efforts. It took a couple of days early in our cruise for him to understand our schedule so that he could get our cabins made up while we were out.  Also our cabin was missing a few things at the beginning of the sailing like the room service breakfast cards and laundry form that we had to chase him down to get for us.  On the other hand, when we pointed out a few things with our cabin that needed repair, he saw to it that it was addressed by maintenance fairly quickly. 

 

Gede was responsible for the aft cabins (including ours and @julieawill) and a few cabins on the port side of the ship.  Because our aft cabin door was on the starboard side hallway, we didn’t see him that much as we went about our day. 
 

We did run into Oana from Romania quite a lot as she had 17 cabins on the starboard side of the ship including @Bob29321. She seemed to be always out there cleaning. We would say hi to her at least 5-6 times a day as we were going or returning from our cabin. We asked her why she seemed to be always working. She explained that in addition to performing the daily tasks that go into servicing a cabin, she likes to devote extra time to performing a deep clean in a portion of the cabin (she would rotate the portion of the cabin that needed to be deep cleaned). She said that is how her mother raised her. Pretty impressive. 
 

It is always amazing to me how cheerful these stateroom attendants were every minute of every day.  Telling us with a smile to have a nice day and then turning around to clean a bathroom.

Yeah Oana, was great, friendly and did an excellent job taking care of my cabin and she got high marks on my review which I hope helps her get a promotion. 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

We had a waiter quite a few years ago named Gede.  He was promoted shortly after that.  Seems to me we had a discussion with him about the significance of his name.  My memory is pretty wonky these days, but it was something like Gede was the name for the third son?  Did you get into that at all with your cabin attendant?

[mahdnc]

8 minutes ago, Bob29321 said:

Just curious did anyone else catch a case of Norovirus. My brother, sister-in-law and I ended up with cases the night before disembarkation?

 

Also sorry for not getting a slot pull going but I guess the best way to get a hold of people is before sailing. DUH

 

Marcia and I got off the ship healthy and remain that way.  I am sorry to hear about your norovirus.  

 

Maybe we would have all gotten infected if there was a slot pull!

[mahdnc]

2 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

We had a waiter quite a few years ago named Gede.  He was promoted shortly after that.  Seems to me we had a discussion with him about the significance of his name.  My memory is pretty wonky these days, but it was something like Gede was the name for the third son?  Did you get into that at all with your cabin attendant?

 

No, sorry--I never asked him about the origin or derivation of his name.  

[Bob29321]

23 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Marcia and I got off the ship healthy and remain that way.  I am sorry to hear about your norovirus.  

 

Maybe we would have all gotten infected if there was a slot pull!

Thinking about it I think we may have caught it on a food excursion in Mexico. Where's your next adventure?

[hcat]

On 5/7/2024 at 7:06 PM, mahdnc said:

Sadly the string quartet was removed as well: 

yes..another sad loss! 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Bob29321 said:

Thinking about it I think we may have caught it on a food excursion in Mexico. Where's your next adventure?

 

Bob, our next cruise is the Apr 2025 Transpacific sailing on Solstice (Sydney to Honolulu).  How about you?  Oh, and how is your wife's recovery coming along?

 

David

[mahdnc]

I would have to say that the current casino interior decoration (top photo) is better than when I saw it back in Aug 2010 (bottom photo):

 

 

[mahdnc]

Here are photos of the Grand Foyer today:

 

and in Aug 2010:

 

If you tap/click on the photos, it will be easier to see them.  What do you think of the difference between now and back then?

Edited May 9 by mahdnc

[raudacruise]

On 5/7/2024 at 7:06 PM, mahdnc said:

Sadly the string quartet was removed as well: 

I miss the string quartet too.  I remember hearing them play “Por una cabeza” as we strolled down the stairway in our formal wear to dine at the Captain’s Table.  I even carried a long-stemmed rose.

 

(For any fan of the movie True Lies that’s the song played when they danced the tango.  No, I didn’t dance.)

[mahdnc]

Pool Deck today:

 

and in 2010.

Edited May 11 by mahdnc

[DaKahuna]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:25 AM, mahdnc said:

 

Bob, our next cruise is the Apr 2025 Transpacific sailing on Solstice (Sydney to Honolulu).  How about you?  Oh, and how is your wife's recovery coming along?

 

David

 If that is the April 9th sailing, we just booked a room on that sailing last night!!  Small world! 

 

[mahdnc]

We sailed in stateroom 8166 on this sailing and also on our prior Summit sailing back in 2010.  In fact we have been in 8166 on Constellation, and Infinity (twice) for a total of 5 times.  It's been our home away from home. 

 

The veranda is huge.  It is 14 foot wide and its longest dimension is 14.7 feet for a total of 327 square feet--larger than the interior space of most cabins. 

 

Back in 2010 (first photo), the balcony floor was made of some type of synthetic rubber.  The surface was slightly gritty (not smooth) to prevent slipping on it.

 

 

Today (next photo) the balcony floor is made of some type of wood (or faux wood) planking.  It looks much much nicer today than it did back in 2010.   The deck furniture is also nicer today.  Notice the white horizonal structural support bar in the upper right corner of the 2024 photo below that isn't present in the above 2010 picture.  That bar is used to help support the overhead cover for the adjacent balcony.  

 

 

Our balcony had ample overhead coverage which came in handy during the Panama Canal crossing because of the rain.  There is also plenty of space for those that want direct sunlight.  The balcony has an overhead light that can be used at night.  It is not visible in either photo. 

 

[mahdnc]

20 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 If that is the April 9th sailing, we just booked a room on that sailing last night!!  Small world! 

 

 

Yes, that would be it!  Nice.  We will be sailing with the DaKahuna to Hawaii.  Please trot on over to our roll call and announce yourselves!

[villauk]

7 hours ago, mahdnc said:

We sailed in stateroom 8166 on this sailing and also on our prior Summit sailing back in 2010.  In fact we have been in 8166 on Constellation, and Infinity (twice) for a total of 5 times.  It's been our home away from home. 

 

The veranda is huge.  It is 14 foot wide and its longest dimension is 14.7 feet for a total of 327 square feet--larger than the interior space of most cabins. 

 

Back in 2010 (first photo), the balcony floor was made of some type of synthetic rubber.  The surface was slightly gritty (not smooth) to prevent slipping on it.

 

 

Today (next photo) the balcony floor is made of some type of wood (or faux wood) planking.  It looks much much nicer today than it did back in 2010.   The deck furniture is also nicer today.  Notice the white horizonal structural support bar in the upper right corner of the 2024 photo below that isn't present in the above 2010 picture.  That bar is used to help support the overhead cover for the adjacent balcony.  

 

 

Our balcony had ample overhead coverage which came in handy during the Panama Canal crossing because of the rain.  There is also plenty of space for those that want direct sunlight.  The balcony has an overhead light that can be used at night.  It is not visible in either photo. 

 

 

Summit is the only M class that we haven’t sailed in 8166. In fact, it’s the only M class we’ve never been on, and our next 4 sailings are all on M class!

[hcat]

9 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Yes, that would be it!  Nice.  We will be sailing with the DaKahuna to Hawaii.  Please trot on over to our roll call and announce yourselves!

can't wait to read those posts!

[DaKahuna]

27 minutes ago, hcat said:

can't wait to read those posts!

 

 Well you are just going to have to wait.  Then again, you could always join us on the cruise!! There is still time and still rooms available. 

 

[Pushkin]

On 5/8/2024 at 12:38 PM, Bob29321 said:

Just curious did anyone else catch a case of Norovirus. My brother, sister-in-law and I ended up with cases the night before disembarkation?

 

Also sorry for not getting a slot pull going but I guess the best way to get a hold of people is before sailing. DUH

My husband and I came down with some sort of stomach/intestinal malady late Saturday.  Didn't feel terrible, so not sure if it was Noro.  Glad we had no problems on cruise.  

 

[hcat]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Well you are just going to have to wait.  Then again, you could always join us on the cruise!! There is still time and still rooms available. 

 

Would be fun but we stick closer to home these days for our adventures! That's why I enjoy all these "live from"   reviews so much!

 

We enjoyed Hawaii but it felt so far away and remote....

 

We prefer Carib ports which are a short flight from home if an emergency arises.

 

[DaKahuna]

10 minutes ago, hcat said:

We prefer Carib ports which are a short flight from home if an emergency arises.

 

 I understand that sentiment.  I want to get these long distant cruises out of the way while we are both still health and mobile enough to do them.  Personally, I really need to get my act together than get more active and loose some excess weight.  I am going to start a summer regimen as soon as we get home.  In the mean time, as soon as the cruise is over, I am going to start and do my best to eat healthier.