Summit to Hawaii 3/12/06 Review and Pictures

[xtopher_66]

This is a little late as I know several people who did this itinerary after us have already posted reviews, but I thought I would add my impressions...

 

To see all of my pictures, go to http://xtopher.smugmug.com/Travel/176438

 

The Basics

Itinerary: 14 day Hawaii Circle Cruise from Los Angeles (San Pedro)

Departure Date: 03/12/06

Ship: GTS Summit

Stateroom: 6116 (Sky Suite)

Background

We are a married couple in our late 30’s (ok, one of us turned 40 somewhere between L.A. and Hilo) and live in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia. This was our second cruise on Celebrity, third overall. We sailed Infinity to Alaska in May of 2005 and our first cruise was on the SS Atlantic of the now defunct Premier Cruise line way back in 1991. So it is fair to say that our only cruising experience to date has been with Celebrity. We thoroughly enjoyed our Alaska cruise and were looking forward to another great experience going to Hawaii.

 

Pre-Cruise

We arrived in LA the day prior to the cruise and did a Hollywood walking tour with Red Line Tours. I highly recommend this tour as you get to see a lot of the famous Hollywood landmarks up close and it really doesn’t require a lot of walking.

 

We spent the night at the Long Beach Hilton using Hilton Hhonors points. Hotel was clean and modern and close to the Queen Mary and waterfront in Long Beach. On the morning of our departure, we took a walk from the hotel to the Queen Mary and back (approx. 3 miles). It was a nice walk, but there really aren’t any sidewalks or paths out to the Queen Mary, so you have to do some walking on the edge of the highway. Since it was a Sunday morning, we didn’t have to contend with a lot of traffic.

 

Our rental car from Hertz had a navigation system in which came in real handy even though I know my way around the area pretty well. It was a big help when we were looking for Trader Joe’s in Long Beach to stock up on wine prior to the cruise.

 

Once note on renting from Hertz – When I initially made my reservation, they had a drop off location in downtown Long Beach with reimbursement on cab fare to the cruise terminals. I found out shortly before our cruise that the downtown location is now closed on Sundays and the nearest drop off is at the Long Beach airport. Not to fear, as the Hertz web site stated that cab fare to the pier would reimbursed up to $25.00 with a receipt. Anticipating difficulty with this, I printed out this information prior to dropping the car off. Sure enough, the agent at LGB had never heard of this policy and would only give me a $10.00 credit on the rental rather than give me a voucher or some other method to get reimbursed. Nevertheless, Hertz had arranged a shuttle from the airport to the piers and we were off within 15 minutes of dropping off the car.

 

Embarkation

We arrived at the pier in San Pedro at approximately 1:00PM and my best guess is that we were on board in less than an hour. I had heard of some nightmare embarkations in L.A. recently and was anticipating the worst. I was pleasantly surprised as we only had a short wait after we checked in and received our SeaPass cards. Everyone was given a piece of paper with a number and told to wait, as there had been a backup of people getting on board. We sat for a short time until our number was called and before we knew it, we were on board.

 

Summit

Since we had sailed on Summit’s sister ship, Infinity, just nine months ago, we found Summit to be very familiar and easy to get around. The only differences I noted were the location of the Computer Lab and Acupuncture at Sea in the across from the midship stairs. On Infinity, they were located near the movie theater.

 

Overall, I found the Summit to be in great condition and there always appeared to be someone cleaning the public areas of the ship. Most notably, there was one member of the housekeeping staff who seemed to be constantly cleaning the railings on the stairs. There were a few areas where I noticed some wear, but it is what I would expect for a ship that had been in pretty much constant use for five years. One noticeable change from Infinity was the presence of hand sanitizing stations near every eating area. With the recent outbreaks of Norovirus, Celebrity certainly wasn’t going to take any chances.

 

Stateroom

Sky Suites are the smallest category of suites on the Millennium class ships and they are really just a little bit bigger than a veranda or Concierge Class cabin (approx. 50 sq. ft. according to Celebrity’s stats). That being said, we found the extra space came in real handy for our two weeks on board. Compared to the Veranda stateroom we had on Infinity, the Sky Suite had enough extra storage room for us to put two weeks of clothing and belongings away without having to use the couch to permanently store items. While the closet is not a true walk-in, it is pretty large and had plenty of space to hang all of our items. That alone made the cabin seem a lot bigger. The Sky Suite also has a larger television than the standard cabin and ours was equipped with a DVD player, which we never used.

 

The room was in very good condition overall. There were a few minor things like scuffs in the woodwork on the cabinets (probably from all that vacuuming) to tiles in the bathroom that probably could have used some new grout. To us, these were minor things that had no impact on our experience one way or another.

 

Food/Service

Since food is highly subjective, I’ll keep it brief. We thought the food was very good (main dining room, buffet) to great (Normandie). No complaints or returned meals from anyone at our table. One of our tablemates did meet someone on shore in Maui who had a complaint about the food – there wasn’t enough! :eek: Go figure.

 

Service on board was outstanding. Our butler, room steward, waiter, assistant waiter, and assistant maitre’d were all great. A special mention goes to our assistant maitre’d, Danuta. We had the pleasure of meeting her on Infinity last year and were pleasantly surprised to see her again on Summit. She really goes out of her way to take care of people at her table and makes a point to visit each of her tables at every dinner. The cheers she got on the last formal night show just how popular she is with her guests. Of course, you can’t talk about the Summit crew without mentioning Happy Happy and Sal who were constantly greeting passengers throughout the cruise.

 

 

Entertainment

We did not attend as many shows as we had hoped, but the few we did attend were great. The taste of Cirque de Soleil was exactly that, a taste that left you asking for more. Kind of like the whole trip to Hawaii. We heard good things about both the comedian and ventriloquist.

 

Ports/Shore Excursions

This being our first time to Hawaii, we decided to stick with the Celebrity shore excursions rather than rent a car and explore on our own. Here is a summary of what we did at each of the island:

 

Hilo – Lava Viewing Hike – This trip required a 45 minute drive to Volcanoes National Park where we made a few stops at some of the scenic areas inside the park such as the Thurston lava tube. We then drove to the end of Chain of Craters road and began the hike at the ranger station which is conveniently built on pallets in the event it has to be moved quickly. The hike on the lava was less than a mile each way, but because of the uneven surface, it seemed a lot longer and was fairly strenuous, but well worth it as we got a great view of the lava entry point into the ocean with its huge steam plume. On the ride back to the ship, we made a stop at the Mauna Loa Macadamia nut plantation, which conveniently has a gift store located on site. Note: You can find most of the gifts in this store cheaper at places like Wal-Mart. Some of the macadamia nut items are probably harder to find elsewhere.

Grade: A+

 

Kona – Valley Waterfall Hiking Adventure - We were going to rent a car in Kona, but since we enjoyed the lava hike so much, we decided to try another hike. This one promised a “walk along a historic Cliffside trail 1000 feet above the valley floor. Along the way encounter waterfalls and panoramic views”. It delivered exactly that, so I can’t complain too much. However, this tour required a 1.5 hour drive each way (which we knew about going in) and our guide seemed to be in a hurry to get us back to the ship “so we can go shopping”. I think he was more interested in attending the UB40 concert that night which created a big traffic jam as we returned to Kona.

Grade: B-

 

Kauai – Waimea Canyon Tour – Due to the heavy rains which had fallen before our arrival, numerous roads were closed on the island causing the cancellation of many tours, including ours. We were disappointed, but considering the loss of life and property that had occurred, it seemed like a minor inconvenience. Since the beaches were closed to the threat from bacteria in the water due to runoff, most of the in water excursions were cancelled as well. I did hear that some people were able to get on Helicopter tours in the afternoon once the skies cleared. Most passengers either stayed on board or took one of the local shopping shuttles into town. On our sailaway from Kauai, we got a peek as to the true beauty of this island, we’ll definitely have to come back here.

Grade: Incomplete

 

 

Honolulu – Arizona Memorial and City Sightseeing – We decided to do the Celebrity sponsored tour since we felt it offered us the best chance to get to the USS Arizona memorial early before the crowds got too bad. This strategy worked out pretty well as we had about an wait after getting our tickets. This provided us plenty of time to check out the museum and other exhibits at this much too small facility. We did find out that some people (newenglandcruisers) made it to the Arizona Memorial faster by getting off the ship at the first opportunity and grabbing a cab. So you may want to think about that strategy when planning your visit to Pearl Harbor. The rest of the tour was a very good tour via bus through some other scenic and historic parts of Honolulu including Punch Bowl, Pali lookout, and downtown Honolulu with a final stop at Hilo Hattie’s. We had an excellent guide/bus driver, Sula, who really added a lot of insight and humor to the trip.

Grade: A

 

Maui – Whale Watching – We booked this excursion through Celebrity since our time in Maui was so brief (approx. 6 hours) that we didn’t want to take any chances. We took our assigned tender to shore only to find out that our excursion had been cancelled. Apparently the tour operator’s other boat had an emergency of some sort, maybe a fire, and that the boat scheduled to take us was unavailable. Not to worry, as there are plenty of vendors on the shore providing many different types of excursions. We ended up with tour from Pacific Whale Foundation which turned out to be a great excursion – and we saved approximately $10 pp.

Grade: A

 

 

 

CruiseCritic Events

We had a very active roll-call thread, which led to several planned activities before and during our cruise that really enhanced the cruise experience for us. In addition, Celebrity threw us not one, but two Cruise Critic parties. The first party was held on our third sea day, not the first one as we had come to expect. We received invitations for a second party on the second Tuesday of our cruise, which coincided with our last port day in Maui. Since our stay in Maui was only six hours, this wasn’t a popular choice. Fortunately we received new invitations to a rescheduled party on Wednesday, a sea day, and all was well.

 

In addition to the Celebrity sponsored parties, we had several get-togethers throughout the cruise including a sail away party, cabin crawl and an open house in one of the fabulous Penthouse suites. Also, quite a few of us went to the Luau at the Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu which I enjoyed. No part of it was fantastic and it seemed a little short, but it was a good time and I can now say I went to a Luau. After talking to some of the people who went to the Paradise Cove Luau, it appeared we made the better choice.

 

Disembarkation

A much smoother process than what we experienced in San Francisco last year. We did have to wait a while in the Celebrity theater as there were only three officials checking people’s docs. They added three more just as we got to the front of the line which sped the process up greatly. Our number was called almost precisely at the time we were expected to disembark.

 

Once off the ship, we found a taxi to take us back to LAX rather than using the Celebrity transfer coach bus. For $45 (a little less since we shared a ride), we were at LAX in less than 45 minutes, plenty of time for our 1:00PM flight home.

 

Conclusion/Summary

Would we do this cruise again? Definitely. We would probably like to take a land-based trip to the islands to spend more time in Hawaii, but you can’t beat this itinerary for the amount of relaxation you get with the sea days combined with all that you see in your all too short stay in Hawaii. If the prospect of four days in a row at sea without seeing land isn’t your thing, then you should stay away. However if you’re looking for 2 weeks of relaxation and pampering with five great port stops in the middle, then this is the cruise for you.

 

Chris

[Socal404]

Great pictures. We stayed in cabin 6116 on the cruise just before yours. It was very pleasant staying there. It is nice to have a suite when you're on a 2 week cruise, although the price might have been a little high for that size. I would characterize it as a mini-suite size, not a suite. Did you have Nelson as your butler? Did you like him? He was very nice to us. What did you think of the window between the shower and the bedroom? That was weird! We felt that Danuta was the best assistant maitre'd we've ever had. We actually gave her a tip, and we usually don't give that position one. Happy, Happy and Sal really made our cruise.

[catmand]

Hey Chris..............your pictures are terrific. Your camera and eye make mine look like finger painting. Now that we have both done Alaska (same cruise) and Hawaii (a cruise apart.....isn't that a movie?) I am thinking we won't bother to book any others that you two are taking, we'll just wait for the photographs..................Chuck

[xtopher_66]

Did you have Nelson as your butler? Did you like him? He was very nice to us. What did you think of the window between the shower and the bedroom? That was weird!

 

Yes, Nelson was our butler and he treated us well. I don't think we took full advantage of having a butler since we never did any room service meals like we had planned.

 

The window between the shower and the bedroom was weird. It took us a few days to realize the black thing in the bathroom that looks like a remote control actually opened and closed the blinds in the window.

 

Chris

[LMKohler]

Chris--that was a great review and wonderful pictures:D . We were with Catmand on the March 26th cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also see you are from our neck of the woods:) We have been in Burke for almost ten years but before that we lived in Gainesville for ten years:eek:

 

Lucy

[mii]

Hi Chris. Remember me. We were also on the Infinity along with Catmand who just posted above. What great pics. You sure have a way with a camera. Good review and gret pictures.

 

Marilyn

[Ine]

Like Chris we were on the March 12 sailing to Hawaii. We fully agree with his review and think back to a wonderful cruise.

He started this review, but agreed to have our schedules on the islands to it.

We have been a few times to Hawaii before, but about 20 years ago. We knew what we wanted to visit and seeagain and rented cars in all ports.

 

On the ship we also had Danujka as maitre d', and even better...Sal was our waiter. He gave a special touch and many smiles each night to our diner.

 

Hilo had its 1st dry day after 2 weeks of rain there....

Although many rentalstation sent out shuttles to the port, Avis doesnot have one... Big disappointment and extra costs of $ 15.- each way. We drove to Volcano NP, visitorcentre, circled craterrim road and made a stop in Volcano House Hotel - their outside terrace gives a great overview of Kilauea Crater.

Next to Akatsuka Orchid Gardens, back to Hilo with stops at Boilingpots and Rainbow Falls, both beaufitul waterfalls. Another stop at Liliuokalani gardens and briefly to a small black sand beach west of Hilo.

 

In Kona we rented through the Dollar office in King Kamehameha Hotel (opposite the tenderdock).- It is more expensive and by reservation only, but it saves a lot of time for picking-up and bringing back the car.

Over Allii Drive with view of the tendered ship we drove to Puuhonua o Honaunau (city of refuge), a beautiful historical site on the sea. Very nice to walk around, sea turtles on the water and on the beach, the old statues etc. On the way back stops at the painted church and at Kona Coffee.

We intended to visit the north shore, but there was a big trafficjam, a serious caraccident had happened north of Kona, so we didnot go there.

We had lunch in a nice restaurant next to the yachtharbor.

 

In Kauai as Chris mentioned all shiptours were cancelled, roads in Waimea Canyon and some on the north shore were closed due to mudslides and a dam that broke a few days before.

It was still raining that morning, but Avis had sent the shuttle, so we picked up the car. After speaking to the Avisdriver, we drove to Opaekaa Falls with beautiful view over the Wailua river and the green valley. Another stop was made at Wailua Falls and at Kilohana -an old plantation home/museum/restaurant. By then it stopped raining.

Although Waimea Canyon was closed we drove to Waimea village with a great stop at Hanapepe Outlook. It gives a very small impression how Waimea Canyon looks like.

In Koloa we saw the memorial of the sugarworkers from P.Rico, Japan, China and other countries. Our last stop was in Poipu Beach.

 

in Honolulu we took a cab to pick up the car at the airport and after that drove to the Arizona memorial. Arrived there 8.45, stayed in line to get in and inside we got tickets for the 11.00 shuttle!! Our friends hadnot seen it, so we stayed, but had to change our plans for the rest of Oahu.

At around 1230 we were on our way for a brief stop at the Dole Pineapple Pavilion. From there back to Honolulu and drove over the Pali Lookout (great view of Kaneohe and Kailua) to blowhole and Hanauma Bay.

We had arranged to drop the car in Waikiki as we were going to the Luau in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. First we had a drink on our own at the Mai Tai bar of the hotel with view over Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. The service during diner was good, the luau was not bad, but we had the idea that during our former visit is was a little better.

Our tablemates had booked the shipstour to the other Luau and were very disappointed, very long lines to get drinks, bad food, dull show.

Back to the ship by cab.

 

in Lahaina it was a short tenderstop (7-3) , which means lost of time. Most rentalcars are at the small airport north of Lahaina, which again means lost of time. After searching the Internet we found Islandriders in Lahaina. They rent Jeeps, motorbikes and scooters. We were picked up at the tenders and very soon on our way to Iao Needle in a very nice green valley. In the bay we could see whales swimming and jumping.

After Iao we stopped at Maui Tropical Gardens (free) with a beautiful pond with all kinds of trees and flowers. Also a big shop for tourists.

Back to Lahaina and on to Kaanapali beach, where we made more photos.

We got a ride back to the tenderterminal and had a little time to shop.

 

We were very happy with the cars and to be able to make our own schedules. As you can see we have seen a lot of the islands.

[Coolcruise02]

How long does it take to get to the Long Beach Hilton from LLX. Do they have a shuttle or did you take a taxi? How much is a taxi? Thanks :)

[toban]

We are considering the Hawaii cruise and we really enjoy sea days but would like to know what the weather was like and were the seas rough on the way there and back ?? Thanks for your help.

[Ships R Great]

Hey, Chris. Great review! We live in Manassas, also. small world. We are taking your Hawaii cruise in October. Maybe things will have dried out by then. Your review makes the cruise seem closer somehow. Patty

[xtopher_66]

Hey Chris..............your pictures are terrific. Your camera and eye make mine look like finger painting. Now that we have both done Alaska (same cruise) and Hawaii (a cruise apart.....isn't that a movie?) I am thinking we won't bother to book any others that you two are taking, we'll just wait for the photographs..................Chuck

Funny, I looked at your pictures and yelled at myself for the great shots I missed. I think we just tend to be more critical of our own work. BTW - You can scratch Bermuda and the Mediterranean off your list. :)

 

Hi Chris. Remember me. We were also on the Infinity along with Catmand who just posted above. What great pics. You sure have a way with a camera. Good review and gret pictures.

Marilyn

Marilyn - I was surprised you didn't go to Hawaii with Chuck and Wanda. I'm sure you have something else booked soon.

 

Chris

[xtopher_66]

How long does it take to get to the Long Beach Hilton from LLX. Do they have a shuttle or did you take a taxi? How much is a taxi? Thanks :)

We rented a car and did the Hollywood tour before going to the hotel, so I don't have an exact time. I have traveled that route on business several times and you should be able to do it in 45 minutes or less, depending on traffic conditions.

 

Chris

[xtopher_66]

We are considering the Hawaii cruise and we really enjoy sea days but would like to know what the weather was like and were the seas rough on the way there and back ?? Thanks for your help.

I did some reasearch before our cruise and was expecting cooler weather - especially the first day or so out of LA and that is what we got. It got warmer the closer we got to Hawaii. It seemed a bit warmer on the retun trip and the last Friday was really a gorgeous day.

 

The first 36 hours after we left LA were a little rough, but it was not as bad as I was expecing. I think the captian announced that we were experiencing 10-15 ft. swells.

 

Chris