Summit 3-1 Review with Photos & HAL Comparison

[purplenorway]

Pre-Cruise/Embarkation

 

We mostly sail with Holland America Line, but chose this cruise on the Summit for its itinerary. It included three islands we had never visited before. This cruise was my fourth time with Celebrity and throughout this review I’ll offer my comparison of the Summit to a Holland America sailing.

 

We flew to Puerto Rico the night before the cruise and stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan. The walls could have been made of paper. It was probably the noisiest hotel room we have ever stayed in. Music played late and into the morning. Every door that slammed rattled our own door. I knew the people next door were going on a cruise because I heard them discussing when to have their luggage ready for pick up.

 

We had breakfast at an outdoor café near the hotel and walked around. We checked out of the room at noon and waited for the transfer to the ship. The hotel lobby was very small; obviously they want you in the casino instead. We reached the cruise terminal around 1:15 and check-in took about two minutes. It was probably the fastest embarkation I’ve ever seen.

 

I think guest embarkation was nicely spread out because the ship left later in the evening. We went to the Waterfall Café for lunch and it wasn’t crowded at all. We easily found a seat. On HAL, we usually have to circle the Lido a couple times in order to find a seat or end up outside by the pool.

 

The lifeboat drill was at 10:15 pm. It looked like some people were still in the dining room by then. We met in the Rendezvous Lounge and waited for everyone to get there. Some people amused themselves by licking their fingers and setting off the blinking lights on their lifejackets. Yuck. There was a very short lifejacket demonstration and then, we went out on deck to our lifeboat. I guess the idea is to find your muster station, but I thought it was dumb to meet inside first for such a quick demonstration and then herd so many people outside. This made it last a lot longer than if it was all done out on deck like HAL does.

 

The Ship/Passengers

 

The Summit is beautiful! The only signs of wear and tear I noticed were our cabin carpet and the rusty spots visible on the side of the ship when I looked out from our verandah. I enjoyed the art onboard. I loved seeing the sculptures in the stairwells that are female heads made of beads. They are over-the-top with big hair, long eyelashes and flowers. The Summit’s art is more modern than the pieces on HAL ships.

 

The Summit is certainly bigger than a Vista class ship. It is a long walk from the show lounge to the dining room. I also noticed that it was a longer walk from the forward staircase to the midship staircase than from midship to aft. I like the smaller size and more intimate feel of a HAL ship.

 

I missed having a wrap-around Promenade deck as on HAL ships. Summit has a partial Promenade on each side with wooden deck chairs that are not adjustable. They just allowed one odd position, especially where your legs rest. The upstairs jogging track was nice, though.

 

They gave out hand sanitizing wipes instead of the liquid hand sanitizer like HAL. I thought these wipes were neater to use.

 

In my opinion, the average age of passengers on this Summit sailing seemed the same as on a typical HAL cruise. I saw some people in t-shirts at the shows on formal night, which is typical on HAL as well, but more men wore tuxedos on Summit than I usually see on HAL. I met some very nice people. I didn’t encounter anyone rude.

 

Our Cabin

 

We had Sky Suite 6132. It is right by the aft staircase and elevators. The elevators were very quiet; I only heard a soft ‘bing’ once and a while if I was by the door. The cabin’s closet was huge! You could actually walk inside. Its lights turned on automatically when you opened one of the doors and were sometimes tricky to get to turn off. I had a sofa bed and found it to be quite firm and not very long. If I pulled the mattress down and put my pillows right against the wall, my feet wouldn’t hang off. The bathroom was small without much counter space, but it had lots of cupboards and shelf space behind the door. There was a window with built in blinds in the shower. It looked into the cabin and I found this very odd. The verandah was much bigger than the other Sky Suites next door because it is on a bend on the ship. It had two lounge chairs and a little table. We asked if we could have a third chair and it was brought that night. The verandah is not very private. Everyone on the side can see you and you can easily see them. Even the partition on the straight side doesn’t go very far. I prefer HAL deluxe verandah suites and superior verandah suites because of bigger bathrooms and more private balconies.

 

We had a butler! When we first arrived, Rikki came to introduce himself and asked us to sit down while he talked for ten minutes about our room and services. He told us to please bother him for things or he would bother us asking what we needed. Each afternoon, Rikki came to our door with his tea trolley filled with sandwiches, cookies, and other goodies. We could also have tea, lemonade, iced tea or hot chocolate. He brought canapés the first evening and shrimp cocktail the second, but we aren’t big seafood fans, so he brought us a nice big plate of cheese and crackers from then on. We were spoiled with Rikki’s service and all the food he brought. Many times, he would say “Don’t give up.” In a way, Rikki was the equivalent to the Neptune Lounge on HAL, but this service was more personal than a HAL concierge.

 

Our stateroom attendant was Josefino. He and Rikki were a great team. Josefino usually had our room made up by the time we returned from breakfast, a show or dinner. He left me two chocolates each night (must have known I was a chocoholic). He did a good job, as do HAL’s room stewards.

 

Dining

 

After embarkation, we came across the Normandie Restaurant and the maitre d’ convinced us to come that night. He said we could dress casually since it was the first day. The service was awesome! I loved how multiple waiters served, uncovered and cleared items at the same time. It was fun to watch some of it be assembled or flambéed table-side. I had the goat cheese soufflé and steak Diane; both were excellent! I also had the five dessert surprise. I think it looked much better than it tasted, though. The mint chocolate chip ice cream was probably my favorite of the five. The restaurant sent a thank-you note the next day, which I thought was a nice touch. This dining experience was far superior to HAL’s Pinnacle Grill.

 

We ordered room service the first morning. They don’t understand tally marks, so we didn’t get all of our food at first, but Rikki brought the rest quickly. We ordered again the second morning and did not use tally marks. It all came. I liked that Rikki would call us when he was on his way with the food. I’d rank Summit’s room service equal to HAL’s.

 

We had the 8:30 dinner sitting at a table for eight in the beautiful Cosmopolitan Restaurant. Table 446 was on the first level near the statue and staircase. The dining room was very noisy and it was difficult to hear people speak from the other side of the table. Our waiter was Suartana and his assistant was Meliet. Suartana was honest about the menu items. I was going to order the chicken that was always available, but he said it has no flavor, so I chose something else. My mom ordered the plum ice cream and he said, “It’s no good.” She said he was right, it tasted horrible. Our assistant maitre d’ was basically a wannabe cruise director. Each evening, he came over to talk about the upcoming party in the nightclub or tomorrow’s port of call. I never saw him help out a waiter by clearing a plate or filling a water glass like they do on HAL.

 

I really don’t remember anything I ate except the filet mignon on the second formal night. As for the desserts, they had complicated names. The desserts are listed on the main menu, but looking at the name on the menu, there was no way I could tell what most of them were. When it was time for dessert, we did not get the menu back; Suartana only brought over the dessert tray, said the complicated name, and thankfully, explained what it was. When we ordered, we usually couldn’t remember the name of what wanted and would usually say something like, “the round one.” It seemed that every chocolate item had liquor and coffee flavoring in it. No dining room dessert was very memorable for me except the passion fruit cheesecake on the last night. In my opinion, HAL’s food is more interesting and the desserts, especially the chocolate ones, are better.

 

One morning, we went to the dining room for breakfast and five waiters swarmed us when we sat down. One was on my left, showing the pastry selection, another was on my right saying “coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, hot anything?” It was funny. Plus, it was fast; we were done in half an hour. Breakfast on HAL usually takes much longer. If we went to the dining room for breakfast a few minutes after closing time, it was still open. I liked that they didn’t close promptly at the time listed in the daily program like on HAL. I believe the dining room was only open for lunch on the sea day. It was closed all of the other days. HAL opens the dining room for lunch almost daily.

 

The Waterfall Café is similar to HAL’s Lido. For breakfast, the main line had cereal, fruit, hot items and breads. I liked the chocolate croissants, when they had them. There was an omelet station and waffles were at the aft. For lunch, there was a main line with salads, hot items, breads, and dessert. I like that HAL has a separate dessert station so you don’t feel like you are cutting in line to get to it. There was a pasta station where they would put whatever you wanted in it. They also had a separate pizza station where they made us an awesome personal pizza one day. We choose our toppings and they asked us to come pick it up after six minutes. There is a sandwich station at the aft. I liked the bread I had. There was also an ice cream bar with a good variety of flavors.

 

I prefer HAL’s Lido because I like the layout better and I really missed having stir fry for lunch! On Summit, it opens at 5:30. That is too close to dinner for me. Also, on HAL, it isn’t difficult to start a conversation with the chefs while you wait for pasta or a sandwich, but those on the Summit just didn’t seem as friendly.

 

I missed the muesli. I looked for it at the Waterfall Café and the AquaSpa Café. Everyone said, “We don’t have it today.” I asked if they would have it tomorrow and they said they didn’t know. I asked for it in the dining room for the second time, and after my pancakes came, the waiter brought a giant bowl of some muesli they threw together for me. It had bananas, almonds and raisins in it. “I don’t know how good it tastes,” said the waiter, but I didn’t care, I was just excited to see it and I thought it was really nice of them to make some especially for me. Our assistant maitre d’ said they did not get enough oatmeal in San Juan.

 

I really liked the waffles, but I missed blueberry pancakes. I learned they will make them for you at the waffle station. I went there on the last day and they said the griddle was broken. I guess they saw my disappointment and reluctantly told me they would throw some blueberries into a waffle. It was very good.

 

We tried out the Aqua Spa Café. The food was lighter, fresh tasting and it was really easy to just grab the dish you wanted to try.

 

A tropical fruit buffet was held by the pool one night. There were some hot items as well and trays of fruit. They had a “parade of melons”. Waiters brought a bunch of carved watermelons straight to the buffet. It would have been more interesting if they circled around the pool deck with them. There was a giant pile of fruit and I asked a chef what certain a crazy prickly fruit was, of course, I can’t remember now, but it hot pink inside and didn’t taste very good. He also peeled a peach for me. I thought this buffet was a creative idea.

 

The Grand Buffet in the dining room was just beautiful! I didn’t even notice half of the food sculptures when I walked through the first time. These were the best desserts I had the entire cruise! I loved the After Eight mint pie and the cute chocolate mice. I’d say this was better than HAL’s dessert extravaganza.

 

I liked Rikki’s tea trolley, but I still wished for afternoon tea service in the dining room or a lounge like on HAL. It’s nice to sit down and listen to music or have a conversation. The Captain’s Club, however, sent us an invitation for an “Elegant Tea” one day in the Normandie. Dress code was informal. They brought around a tray of sandwiches; most of the people at our table chose one or two and waited around for other stuff. Then we just decided to eat them and they came to clear our plates. Wow, teatime with courses? They brought over a big trolley of desserts. It was impressive looking, but the desserts tasted just okay. Rikki was jealous that we went downstairs for tea. I told him his tea trolley was better anyway.

 

Entertainment/Activities

 

Most of our shows were at 7 pm. We did not go to the first show, but it featured a cappella group “On Point” and the singers and dancers. Other nights, shows were comedian Don Gavin and “action comedy” of Ron Pearson. Both were good. The production shows were good as well. The first was “Thoroughly Broadway”, in the second, they did songs from music stars and the final production was called “Encore”. The farewell variety show featured the a cappella group “On Point”, aerial artists Alex and Sally and comedian Don Gavin. I would rate Summit’s and HAL’s shows equally. As for productions shows, I’m more impressed with HAL’s sets and costumes.

 

There was a culinary demonstration on the morning of Bonaire. The Normandie chef made filet mignon, the pastry chef decorated a cake and another carved fruits and vegetables. The maitre d’ talked about place settings and a bartender did tricks in a martini demonstration. They packed a lot into a short amount of time. You couldn’t see as much as you can on the screens in HAL’s Culinary Arts Center, but it for sure had more variety.

 

Also on the Bonaire morning, there was a time scheduled to meet the captain and officers on the ship’s helipad. This sounded so unusual; we had to check it out. It was fun!

 

An artist offered free caricatures in the Cova Café. I thought that was a very cute idea and the drawing is a nice souvenir.

 

On the morning in Aruba, we went to the Aqua Spa’s Thalassotherapy pool. We had the pool to ourselves! I also found a lovely padded lounge chair in front of a big window. It was heavenly!

 

There was a poor selection of activities on the sea day, so we tried to go to the Thalassotherapy pool again, but it was really crowded. I think everyone went to the pool deck that day. The officers served food at a buffet by the pool and I thought that was a good idea. They didn’t stay very long, though; they were gone by the time I got my food. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest in the cinema and looked for the locations we saw in Dominica (I wished for popcorn like on HAL). I think HAL has more activities and I missed their ‘dam dollars’ program.

 

Ports

 

St. Maarten

 

We took a taxi to Maho beach. Our van was full, so the fare was $7 per person. The ride lasted about half an hour and we agreed on a pick up time. The beach is right by an airport runway! The planes fly overhead! First, we stood in the middle. A 747 came in. It was spectacular, but then sand blasted us! Such wind! I was not going to stand in that spot again! I then noticed a warning sign: “Jet blast of departing and arriving aircraft can cause severe physical harm resulting in extreme bodily harm and/or death.” Nice I saw that afterwards.

 

Dominica

 

We took a fantastic tour with Jon Vee. He is the president of the Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association and seemed to know everyone we came across. During the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean two and three, Jon drove around the director, writers, etc. We saw places where they built bridges over the roads and saw what is left of the tribal village. “That’s where Johnny was roasted!” he said. Jon has met Orlando Bloom and says he is a nice guy! (You may pause here to sigh.)

 

Dominica’s roads are very bumpy, but Jon Vee knows where the pot holes are. He also knows his plants. What beautiful flowers along the roads! We stopped at Trafalgar Falls where there were two gorgeous waterfalls. We went to the Sulphur Springs which was extremely crowded as people watched two men trying to boil an egg. I was not too impressed and the smell of the sulfur was very bad. We stopped at the botanical gardens. There were some captive parrots that you can’t really see because the cage is set back so far and all fenced in. We saw a big caterpillar, lizards and a school bus that was once squashed by a tree.

 

Jon drove us to Scotts Head and the Soufriere Sulphur Springs. We sat in square pools that felt like bathwater. They have wooden gazebo-type things above them but this didn’t protect us from the rain. I noticed that my fingernails and socks had some orange on them. Later, I saw my swimsuit and skin turned orange in spots. I kept finding orange on my elbow, my wrist, etc. I imagine it is what a bad spray on tan would look like. At dinner that night, someone said, “Looks like you got some color.” Why yes, I did.

 

Grenada

 

We took the ship’s shore excursion “Mountain Forest/Grand Etang/Annandale/Fort Frederick” (Celebrity’s shore excursion descriptions in the booklet they give out don’t tell you much. Read them online instead, it’s more detailed). The tour left late and we got back to the ship more than an hour late. We drove for long periods and made 10-20 minute stops. First, we went to a plantation. Most people went inside a building to see a spice demonstration, but I was more interested in the river outside and the garden pathway. A man out there told me about every plant I even glanced at.

 

We drove up into the mountains and rainforest. Our driver bought us bananas from a roadside stand. They were nice and sweet. He passed around spices for us to smell and he cut a Bird of Paradise to pass as well, but I did not smell it after someone else said it “smells like donkey farts.” He cut open a cacao bean and we could suck on a seed from it. It smelled like chocolate but tasted like a grape. He also pulled over on the road for at least 10 minutes to sell us his sister’s spices. I didn’t appreciate that. It was like being cornered.

 

We went to the National Park. I thought our driver said we were going to see a waterfall here, and I wandered around looking for it, but all that was there was the Crater Lake. The view had a nice power line in front of it. There was nothing to do but look at the shops. We did buy some spices here instead of from the driver. On the road, we saw two monkeys. The driver got out to give one a banana. I wish I had gotten a picture! Then, we really went to the waterfall this time, but it was so crowded! I made my way to the bottom and watched a guy jump into the water. Finally, we went to Fort Frederick. There was a great view from the top once you could see above yet another power line.

 

Bonaire

 

We docked even though it had been listed as a tender stop. Apparently they just say there will be tendering as a worst case scenario because Bonaire is quite windy. Summit visits Bonaire with the Crown Princess. They take turns using the big dock, but there is also a little dock that the Summit can use. We got the little dock and walked right off in the afternoon. I heard it was an extremely long wait to get off in the morning because they only have room for one gangway. We shopped around the stalls and walked along a path on the waterfront. There were beautiful turquoise fish in the clear water. We wanted to find the flamingos we heard we could see if we walked 20 minutes. When we finally got to the wetland, there were no flamingos. The water is too low for them. We should have taken a taxi another flamingo location, but taxis are difficult to find in Bonaire.

 

Aruba

 

We went shopping!

 

Disembarkation/Conclusion

 

The last night, our luggage was supposed to be outside our door by 11 pm. I’d rather not hurry to pack up as soon as we finish dinner! It’s our last chance to enjoy the ship! They called our cabin at 11:45, asking about our bags. HAL lets you put out your luggage until around 2 am.

 

We met in the Celebrity Theater for disembarkation. We waited about ten minutes until we were told to head to the gangway. No one escorted us like we heard they would. We just walked off the ship; there really wasn’t a line at all. The customs line was long, however. I liked knowing what time we were supposed to leave, but I would have rather have waited in my cabin like on HAL.

 

Summit is a beautiful ship and I really enjoyed the ports we visited. Sure, I will sail Celebrity again, if I find an itinerary that catches my eye. I consider Celebrity my second favorite cruise line. It is similar to HAL, but I just feel more at home on a Holland America ship. (You can view my cruise photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/purplenorway)

[Blue46]

What a wonderful and thoughtout review. Made me almost think I was there. Thank you.:)

[RLM77]

Great review; I agree with most of it. The one area where we disagree is the ship's layout. I strongly prefer M-Class public areas to those of the Vista class. The Rendezvous Lounge and Champagne/Martini Bars are always hopping before dinner and they are large enough venues to handle the crowds. I like the sense of activity and excitement that these rooms create. A big contrast to the Ocean Bar which rarely seemed crowded (in part because it was several smaller "rooms" rather than one larger one, in part because the dance combo on HAL couldn't hold a candle to any of their counterparts on Celebrity). The lounges on M-Class also prevent (most of the time:rolleyes:) what became a regular feature of Zuiderdam -- people lined up nearly to the middle of the ship waiting for the dining room to open for dinner.

 

I also prefer the port and starboard corridors on M-Class public decks to the Vista's single corridor. Of course, everyone's preferences are subjective.

 

I think you're spot on about the food. HAL's is more interesting and more varied. And HAL's accommodations are better as well. But Vistas can't match the M-Class for generating a feeing of excitement and activity on the public decks.

 

Rich

[brazilgirl]

Thanks for the great review...we will be on the Summit in May.

Your photos are wonderful-thanks for sharing them with us.

I was in Dominica and Aruba in´95-they are still lovely.

Have fun on your future cruises!

Kim

[CruiserTK]

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed your review. Although we've only sailed RCCL, I am contemplating Celebrity/HAL cruises in the future. You are an excellent photographer. What a pleasant evening I have spent going through your albums.

[usha]

Thanks for the lovely, balanced review, and the great pictures! I felt like I was back on Summit. I really love both X & HAL, but in my case, I just feel more at home on X. So many nice things about both lines, and it's nice to be able to choose.:)

[flashdog_1]

and the review, too.

 

What about those glass elevators? Aren't they something?

 

I found the entire service staff on Summit to be so professional and yet personable. Glad you enjoyed your trip.

[purplenorway]

Blue46, I'm glad you enjoyed the review!

 

RLM77, Now that I think about it, there was a kind of excitement in those rooms. I guess it just seems strange to me to walk through those rooms instead of around them like on HAL.

 

brazilgirl, I also thought Dominica was lovely! It was my favorite stop. Have a great time on your Summit cruise!

 

CruiserTK, Thanks so much!

 

usha, Yes, both lines are very nice! I know I can expect a great cruise with either one.

 

flashdog_1, Yeah, those glass elevators are really cool! I love how two of them look out to sea.

[JWJs]

Wonderful review. Terrific pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[Germancruiser]

Thank you also from germany- Summit is one of my favorite ships- so it was sheer pleasure to look at the pictures. Great review also! Thanks!

Michael

[nps001]

I agree....you take wonderful pictures! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this informative review. I have read so many comparisons between HAL/X that I feel if I needed to try HAL because of itinerary, great price, etc. I would certainly feel at home and enjoy the cruise with them. For now, I stick with X as my first choice.

[caviargal]

What a well written review...thanks for taking the time to post.

 

I agree with many of the OP's points. I am not sure about extra "energy" on a M class ship as I did not notice that on Infinity and I find the Century class ships feel more crowded overall. I loved the energy on Zenith and Horizon but have not experienced anything similar on Celebrity since then.

 

We also prefer the food choices and preparation on HAL more than on X. The Asian versus French influence of their cuisine , the fresh tasting fish dishes and the more interesting options on the lunch and dinner menus, as well as the availability of the dining room for lunch is a winner for us.

 

As for the PG versus the Normandie, we enjoy the PG and dine there a few nights during an average cruise. The cuisine in the specialty dining venues on X is very rich and heavy for my tastes and I find the limited menu and inflexibility of accomodating special requests to detract from the experience. JMO. And we love the option on HAL to bring aboard wines of our choosing and pay a reasonable corkage.

 

We feel most at home on a HAL ship these days and enjoy the experience very much.

[Schplinky]

I agree with you on your food comments. The food in the main room was better on HAL and the food in the specialty on X cannot be beat (and HAL's rather average Pinnacle didn't even come close).

 

We found HAL rather dull (both in ship design and activity level) but given your number of cruises on here, I presume you don't share that opinion so I won't belabour it. The one thing we really disliked was the bottleneck getting into dinner through the photo gallery.

[momva]

This time tomorrow, we will be on our way to San Juan to sail the Summit on Saturday. Nothing has made me more excited than your photos. Thanks!

[Jade13]

Pre-Cruise/Embarkation

 

We mostly sail with Holland America Line, but chose this cruise on the Summit for its itinerary. It included three islands we had never visited before. This cruise was my fourth time with Celebrity and throughout this review I’ll offer my comparison of the Summit to a Holland America sailing.

 

I consider Celebrity my second favorite cruise line. It is similar to HAL, but I just feel more at home on a Holland America ship. (You can view my cruise photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/purplenorway)

 

Great review.

 

Love your photo albums! What type of camera do you use? The Westerdam photos made me homesick. We were on her last July. Our CC party was in the same spot. I have not been to HMC, and was excited to see the wild Iguanas (and other lizards) as we have an Iguana and other lizard pets. No one else has mentioned them. Let me know anywhere else in the Carribean where you have seen wild Lizards and/or Tortoises? My DH still wants me to find out where the Red Foot Tortoises are located. They are on an Island in Southern Carribean but authors who have located them will not disclose the location for fear someone in the pet trade will take them (may be an islet off of St Thomas, or St Kitts)

[Sky Sweet]

Hi Purplenorway :)

 

Thanks for posting such an excellent and well balanced review. We have been on HAL's Westerdam, as well as three of Celebrity's M class ships, and I agree with most of your comments.

 

I especially enjoyed browsing through your photos of Westerdam. It made me feel as if I was on that wonderful ship again :)

[kelmac]

Wonderful review!

 

My wife and I pretty much just alternate between Celebrity and Holland America. We prefer the dining room cuisine and the alternative restaurants of Celebrity, but think HAL does a better job with it's Lido.

The Millennium class ships are our favorite, with the Aqua Spa, Aqua Spa Cafe and the great open deck spaces.

HAL does a great job putting together interesting itineraries, but as Celebrity adds ships, I'm sure they will improve in this area.

Next week we will board the Constellation and this summer will find us on a return visit to the Westerdam. Our favorite cruise includes a BtoB matching a Celebrity ship with an HAL ship -- doesn't get any better than that!:)

 

Thanks again for the great review and super photos!

Kel

[UtterCaro]

Good review, wonderful photos! I'm bookmarking to view all the galleries later.

 

Caro

[LongTimeTvlr]

I'll add my thanks to the list. Great review!

 

We are sailiing on the Summit in Western Europe in late April, after her dry dock. I suspect they will replace a lot of the worn carpet, etc. so even these small problems should be taken care of by the time we board.

 

One point you didn't mention - My wife and I enjoy ballroom dancing. Did you happen to notice the dance floors on the Summit. I hear they have a dance floor in the RendezVous room for example. Did you notice any ballroom dancing? We are hoping with a bigger ship they will have better dancing arrangements than we have seen in the past.

 

 

And we are on the same Eurodam cruise you are on in December. I hope we get a chance to meet.

 

We have previously sailed on the Veendam (Jan 08) and the Century (Aug 07). From this very limited sample, we prefered the HAL food (except for the Waffles on the Century!) but found the seating in the theater very uncomfortable. My wife and I are both tall (6'1' and 5' 10" respectively) and the low backs made long shows painful. We try to go to most of the shows but we had to leave early a few times on the Veendam.

 

But as you mentioned, both Cruises were outstanding. Both HAL and X are our favorites. That's why we're doing them again this year.

 

Really interested to see what HAL does with the new Eurodam. They could pull into the lead.

 

It appears to me that X has eliminated some dance floors to put in the expanded spas. If that is true, we probably won't try them.

[flashdog_1]

There was also ballroom dancing in the lounge on starboard side just outside the main restaurant. (is that Rondezvous? Can't remember). We had second seating for dinner and one night made the mistake of getting off at the midship elevator and walking thru. Very crowded with the dancers and live music. Next time we took the aft elevator.

 

There was dancing on the top deck in the club they used for Cirque, too.

 

I am sure I also saw a few couples dancing in either the champagne or martini bar (also on the way to dinner but the other side of the ship).

[purplenorway]

JWJs, nps001, and Sky Sweet, I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the review and photos!

 

Germancruiser, Hello from Michigan!

 

caviargal, Yes it is really nice to have the option of going to the dining room for lunch on HAL.

 

Schplinky, The Normandie was as fantastic as I remember Ocean Liners was on Constellation. Elegant, entertaining, and really stuffs you!

 

momva, Have a wonderful cruise!

 

Jade13, Thank you! I use a Canon PowerShot A560. Westerdam is one of my favorites! You should really try out HMC. It's heavenly. I've never seen wild tortoises, but most islands seem to have lizards. They are very friendly in the HMC cabanas. Crown Bay in St. Thomas was an awesome spot to see the iguanas!

 

kelmac, I enjoyed the Constellation about 3 years ago and I hope you will enjoy it next week! A back to back on Celebrity and HAL sounds great! And lucky you to be sailing on the Westerdam this summer!

 

Uttercaro, I am honored.

 

LongTimeTvlr, I bet Summit will look very nice after dry dock! I think the Rendez-Vous Lounge would be the place for ballroom dancing. I kept the daily programs and they say that the "Kelly Broadway Quartet" was playing there. Alright! You will be on the "Cruise of the Chocoholics"! I'm sure we will meet. Sounds like we'll be having a few get-togethers. I remember how uncomfortable those seats were in the Veendam's show lounge. The Vista ships all have rows of couches and are more comfortable. From the drawing I've seen of Eurodam's show lounge, all seats are individual, theater style.

[Jade13]

 

Jade13, Thank you! I use a Canon PowerShot A560. Westerdam is one of my favorites! You should really try out HMC. It's heavenly. I've never seen wild tortoises, but most islands seem to have lizards. They are very friendly in the HMC cabanas. Crown Bay in St. Thomas was an awesome spot to see the iguanas!

.

 

Thanks! I hope to get to HMC sometime. If anyone sees the wild Red Foot Tortoises please let me know. My DH keeps asking me to find out where they are.

[cruisinjudy]

Yes, it is the Rendezvous where the dancing takes place near the dining room. Last time we were on Summit the dance floor was not in good shape. I don' t know if they have replaced it. That was 2006.

[Germancruiser]

Hello to Michigan!

I also bookmarked your photo site- I am so curious about Holland America- since I am a die hart X - Fan, I haven´t tryed them yet. You really have a gift with these pictures. Perhaps you are a photographer!

Greetings

Michael

[purplenorway]

Thank you, Michael! Nope, I'm not a photographer; I just take tons of pictures on cruises! :) Hope you give HAL a try someday!