Live From The Decks Of The Summit B2B 10/19 & 10/25/14 /14

Hey everyone! Getting started on my trip. Driving to Largo Fl this morning to visit my bestie for two days before I fly out of Tampa Saturday morning.

Going to have a ball! Even if she did dessert me and move in April! It seems much longer than that. When you have a friend you do almost everything with and all of a sudden you're separated it can be traumatic! So I'm more excited about these two days than I am about the cruise! You hear that Judy? :)

I'm taking a very weird route to get to Bayonne. Flying from Tampa to Providence on the 18th. Spending one night with friends Cil and Roger then we all are taking the Academy Bus from Providence to Bayonne. The bus is so darn easy and I HATE to fly in to Newark.

Since my car will be in Tampa Cil, Roger and I are flying back through the airport there and driving to my house (200 miles or so). I'll have the pleasure of their company until the 11th when they fly back to Providence.

So come along with us and if you can't come on the cruise follow along with us on this thread!

Bye for now!

I'm hiding in your suitcase. :) Judy - please don't give me away!

I'm looking forward to a wonderful exciting cruise - and NO disturbed seas!

I'll hang in here until you get onboard, Gail. :cool:

Sounds FABULOUS !!

I will be reading your posts for sure.

Fortunately for you looks like your timing is impeccable, as by Sunday Hurricane Gonzalo will have passed on by.

We are watching tonight the storm's movement towards Bermuda and onto Canada's Maritimes

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2115237

Which could disrupt the Itinerary, or just give the folks before you on The Summit a bumpy ride.

Let's hope not.

Cheers!

With Diana and John B pulling for good weather for us I'm sure this is going to be a GREAT cruise!

Only sore point for me is no Tortola :eek: ! And everyone knows how much I love Cane Garden beach. The good news is that when X goes back there in the spring we are supposed to be docked whole days and not 8:30 to 2:30. Anyone who has cabbed it with me from the ship to the beach knows I am every drivers nightmare trying to get there FAST. Thankfully, on the way back I'm pretty mellow. Or maybe that's the Painkillers???

Never done this cruise, what seems to us, backwards. Only done the San Juan to Bayonne. Kind of nice to get Bayonne in our rear view as I really

am not a fan of Newark. By flying in to Tampa from SJU we were able to get a Saturday flight that leaves at 1:30 and gets in at 4:35. It's about 200 miles home but I'm tough! Me and 5 Hour Energy plus a Big Bubba quart size coffee mug should make it just fine! :)

Mark and Randi, Jeff and Kevin, it's going to be a much calmer cruise without you guys! And not in a good way! I'm going to miss you all!

Hi Gail - have a great time with Cil and Roger - you know I will be thinking of you. My sister and I will be doing a 7 day on the Summit to Bermuda on 5/3 out of Bayonne. Sorry we couldn't have hooked up!!! Love to you all - Fran

UGH - I am so jealous. Got off Summit on October 5. The little plates are gone in the buffet - much to our dismay - because we liked that better.

The Captain's Club Coffee Break is now plated items and they hand you a menu to order from. DH and I didn't really like it. The first day I asked if I could also get a plain yogurt. His response was "I'll see if I can find one." Really? Anyway out of 14 days I think we went 4 times.

Other than that t hings were great. Service, food, entertainment were all terrific.

Have a great cruise - I know you always do and thanks again for the Live Postings.

Hi Gail,

I must be starting senior moments early because I didn't remember if you were sailing Pre or Post Repositioning. NOW I know, thank you... and thanks for the link.

Have a GREAT trip, even if is is without us and the boys :( !! We are next on Eclipse Nov 23.

Good news for "all day" Tortola in the future. Cant wait !

Please send our warm regards to the youngsters Cil and Rodger, have fun and let us know all the inside as you do so well.

Best regards

Mark & Randi

Dear Girl - 4:04am - did you get any sleep at all before leaving for Tampa? I'm hoping for some really good sleep when you finally get settled in. And please don't let them kick this suitcase or toss it around. You know how motion sensitive I am. :)

Safe travels, Gail. I'll see you when you get back.

I <3 U girlfriend!

So much to do, so little time to do it all. :)

OOOH Boy , am I mad. We came SOOO close to booking this cruise and then booked something else...If I had known I would have met YOU, We would have gone...

Please have a great cruise, LOVE your reports!!

See you on the sec. part of the trip....

Prepared for Haloween?

If you don't mind I have a few questions about the Summit after the summer "experiments" if you could comment when you get a chance:

1. Are they still doing embarkation lunch in BLU for Aqua and Normandie for Suites?
   
2. Are they still doing Liquid Nightclub at the Aqua pool one night, and Indulgence in Cellar maters one night?
   
3. Still doing Frozen - White Party one night in Sky lounge?
   
4. is buffet still serving any hot foods in the single-serve ready to go metal baskets and pans? I've read they are still doing many cold items in single ready to go servings and the hot foods had gone away, but were possibly coming back after some tweaking.
   
5. Are they still doing an omelet station at the poolside bar in the mornings?
   
6. have the small tea-sandwiches returned to the afternoon buffet or to the aqua spa cafe tea time (4-5pm) (as opposed to the "open faced" versions only at Aqua spa cafe for the summer tea hour)
   

I sailed Summit 2 times this summer, and experienced these things, and was curious if they would remain after the Bermuda season.

As always, looking forward to your "diary" Gail. So Many times, we have thought of doing a b2b repo to or from Bayonne, but have settled for a b2b from San Juan, which we love! You may not like Newark, but the NYC skyline is worth the price of admission!

Have a great cruise(s)!

I'll be on this cruise with you, Gail! I look forward to reading your diary of events upon my return. :)

Gail I am on the first leg of this trip as well traveling with my sweet mom and friend Kathy. I look forward to meeting you. I always enjoy your reports from your trips. Very nice that we will both get to report on the first leg of what is shaping up to be a fabulous trip. Safe travels to New Jersey!!

Walter

Will live vicariously through you, since we have to wait until Feb. to sail on Eclipse. Looking forward to your anecdotes. Remember - not too much sun. Painkillers - okay. :D

Bon Voyage!

Susan & George

Had trouble hooking up to Internet at both my friends house in Largo and Cil and Rogers apartment in RI. Especially strange in RI because

I've been there so many times before and never had trouble.

Right now we are on the Academy bus just went over the George Washington Bridge. We were late leaving Providence because three or four people did not show. We waited until 8:15 before the company would let him leave. We made two stops for pick-ups, once for a couple and once for ten people. Bus is not full which is always more comfortable.

My plans for tonight are to go to dinner and then catch up on my sleep. Last night I managed about 6 hours of sleep. The two days before I had 4 hours total so I'm still very tired. But this cruise starts with 3 sea days and its cold here so I know I'll have at least tomorrow to sleep late and catch up.

10.19.14 10.25.14 Summit Bayonne to San Juan

Pre-cruise day 2

Got to my friends house in Largo about 3:30 PM on Friday. She has a lovely backyard with trees and a pool. We sat out there for a couple of hours just talking and enjoying the nice day and being together again. I have certainly missed my best friend. Sometimes in life we get these special people who are more like family than our own families. Someone who knows all our warts, all our secrets and loves us anyway. I am very lucky to have had her in my life for (many) years. Love you, Judy! And BTW, please move back home. Georgia is mighty lonely without you!

After a terrific meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes, broccoli and her very special homemade Chocolate Cream Pie we sat and talked until quite late.

Pre-cruise day 3

We were up early but didn’t make it out of the house until 12:30. I had a few items I needed to pick up but we decided to have lunch first. We both LOVE Sweet Tomatoes

(Soup Plantation in some areas). The Happiness WonTon Salad was a hit as was the Clam Chowder with warm Cornbread. Followed, of course, by a Hot Fudge and Caramel

Sundae. Sure wish there was one near me.

After a brief stop at Target and an even briefer stop at PetSmart where I drooled over the kitties (I lost my Spenser a few months ago) we set off in search of Costco. With only a few phone calls for help we managed to find it. Gas was 2.97 which was only a little more than the 2.84 I paid before leaving home so I topped off my tank. Who knows, it could be 3.50 when I get back to Tampa May 1st.

Pam, I’m sorry to say the only mirror they had left in Costco was the display and they wouldn’t sell me that one. I did give it a good try. My neighbor might stop at the Costco south of Atlanta next weekend when they go to the mountains. Keep your fingers crossed she can get you one there. It is a VERY nice mirror!

After Costco we were on a search for a BofA so I could finish up some business. They aren’t all that hard to find here but finding one where you can get across traffic is the trick. Once that was done I found an Office Depot to do some faxing and my errands were done so we headed back home.

We sat and drank (cokes) and watched the news. That’s when we heard about the

Carnival Magic and the Ebola scare. What a disaster that is. No ports will let the ship

dock. And how the heck do you clean and sanitize a whole ship? This will be much

harder than than killing the Noro. I heard they are taking all the seat and wall coverings

out of the airplane that unknowingly carried one of the nurses from Texas. That’s quite a

feat on a ship!

We eventually went back out and had breakfast for dinner. Eggs, bacon, hash browns

with onions and pancakes. It was as good as it sounds! And they weren’t busy so we sat

there talking and drinking coffee until 10:30. When we got home her husband was

amazed we had talked so long. Hey, we had 6 ½ months to catch up on!

It’s 2:30 and I have to be up at 4:30 so I better wind this up. I prepaid the off site valet

parking ($85 for 15 days) at the Intercontinental hotel (Global Parking). My friends used

it in May and thought it was very well run I’m giving it a shot. Only thing I didn’t like

was the shuttle runs every 30 minutes and not on demand. I’ll let you know how that

works.

Bye for now!

Hi Gail. I'm looking forward to more of your review and to finally meeting you - I think I've read every review you've ever posted and have loved each and every one. My DH and I will be joining you on the October 25th sailing. See you then.:D

Diane

Look forward to following you along your journey. We are embarking the Summit in San Juan as you disembark!

Followed your last live review and thoroughly enjoyed the ride!

I will be sailing on the Summit on the Oct 25 sailing out of SJU.

The World Series will begin on Oct 22 - I don't think it will be finished by Oct 25 when we board. (I can hope the SF Giants would sweep and win in four games, but I don't think KC Royals will not give us so easily....)

Can you confirm that they are showing the games??

Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

Sheila

Can't wait to board the Summit in just a few months!

looking forward to following this review. Please post any hints you care to share for the Celebrity noobs among us;)

Hi Gail,

Looks like I just missed you. Home yesterday after the Canada/N.E. cruise. This was an exceptional cruise, in part because of the food quality, and also because of the great team on board. Be sure to ask the b to b people from the last cruise what happened to the beard of the Capt. :-))

Anne

Safe travels Tuggers. By any chance, when you are on the official second leg of your trip (southern Caribbean), can you grab the dailies and post them please.

If you don't mind I have a few questions about the Summit after the summer "experiments" if you could comment when you get a chance:

 

1. Are they still doing embarkation lunch in BLU for Aqua and Normandie for Suites?
   
2. Are they still doing Liquid Nightclub at the Aqua pool one night, and Indulgence in Cellar maters one night?
   
3. Still doing Frozen - White Party one night in Sky lounge?
   
4. is buffet still serving any hot foods in the single-serve ready to go metal baskets and pans? I've read they are still doing many cold items in single ready to go servings and the hot foods had gone away, but were possibly coming back after some tweaking.
   
5. Are they still doing an omelet station at the poolside bar in the mornings?
   
6. have the small tea-sandwiches returned to the afternoon buffet or to the aqua spa cafe tea time (4-5pm) (as opposed to the "open faced" versions only at Aqua spa cafe for the summer tea hour)
   

 

I sailed Summit 2 times this summer, and experienced these things, and was curious if they would remain after the Bermuda season.

Hi Curt, I can answer a couple of your questions...

1. There was no lunch in Blu for Aqua on embarkation. Not sure about suite lunch. The b2b pax were given lunch in bistro on 5. I Was told they may do that for b2b on this cruise if there aren't too many people...I think there are a lot of us so I don't think they will.

3. They are doing Frozen white party tonight in revelations.

DH got pre portioned fruit at the buffet, in stemless martini type glasses.

I'll check on your other questions, if Gail doesn't respond.

Weather has been great and calm seas.

Hi Curt, I can answer a couple of your questions...

 

1. There was no lunch in Blu for Aqua on embarkation. Not sure about suite lunch. The b2b pax were given lunch in bistro on 5. I Was told they may do that for b2b on this cruise if there aren't too many people...I think there are a lot of us so I don't think they will.

 

3. They are doing Frozen white party tonight in revelations.

 

DH got pre portioned fruit at the buffet, in stemless martini type glasses.

 

I'll check on your other questions, if Gail doesn't respond.

 

Weather has been great and calm seas.

What is the frozen white night party? I don't remember hearing about that on our last X cruise.

What is the frozen white night party? I don't remember hearing about that on our last X cruise.

It may have been unique to Summit out of New York to Bermuda this summer. This cruise tends to be more of a party group than others may be, being out of NYC area and thus this type of entertainment works for the crowds.

I believe it was final night or night before, in sky lounge, they decorated, and had staff dancers etc there. Just a fun party in the lounge for late nighters.