2jeffs

Thanks for the suggestion but we got a screaming good deal when we booked and it is definitely higher now. Don’t want to mess up our original details.

We are on the Dec 3 Mexican Riviera sailing. Celebrity called us last week and said they would have everything updated by the end of the week. Reservation still shows the Millenium in Southern Carribean.

We booked the last cruise before they go into dry dock in February 2019. :eek:Should we cancel? What should we expect?

So we will also be sailing on this cruise in February. I was looking for a short one due to our tight vacation schedule and I jumped at this 4 night itinerary.

So obviously I am going to recommend you not cancel but I do have some experience to back that up. We also sailed on the last cruise the Summit took before she went into drydock to be "Solsticized". I was really worried then that both the ship and the crew would be "tired". That is not at all what I found to be the case. The ship looked great and we just sailed on her again last February so I can confirm she still does. If you really want to find wear and tear you will, but it was nothing that impacted our cruise. The big surprise that we found was with the crew. Since almost all of them were ending their contract I was worried they would be cranky, but I found just the opposite to be true. I think the idea of them all going home had everybody excited and they were super helpful and friendly. It was fun talking with several crew members about how excited they were to see their families soon.

Maybe some other people might have had worse experiences, but I am looking forward to the last sailing of this version of the Summit.:p

My wife and I just disembarked the Summit this morning and had a wonderful cruise. We were in an a Category A1 Aqua Class Veranda and the cabin was very comfortable as was the bathroom and condition of the cabin.

 

I spoke with the hotel director and was told that the Summit will be going in going for a major, 5-week rehab around November. Expect to find major enhancements in most public spaces, restaurants and staterooms.

 

All of the staff was exceptional and the new production shows were very good.

I think the hotel director may have been a bit off with his timing about the rehab being in November. Summit is still booking cruises all the way through November, December, and January. I am booked on a 4 night cruise on February 10th and I am pretty sure the rehab is happening immediately after that. The roll calls for the cruises scheduled after that all say they were cancelled already by Celebrity.

We are booked on the February 10th cruise. It is just a quick 4 night cruise out of San Juan, 3 stops and no sea days. We originally booked an 11 night Southern Caribbean on the Reflection but I am going be changing jobs in fall so thought it might be a problem with my new employer to take that much time off. I am a little nervous but coincidentally I was also on the last cruise before Summit went into drydock a couple years ago. That was a great cruise so I am hoping to have the same kind of experience with this one.

First let me say that we have only been on three cruises, so I do not think it would be fair for me to compare these two cruise lines. I will leave that to you lucky ducks that have been on far more cruises than me and have a better sample to base that on. However, the three cruises I have been on were Southern Caribbean on Celebrity Summit in 2016, Western Caribbean on Norwegian Dawn in 2017, and back on Summit for Eastern Caribbean last month. So I do think I am qualified to compare those 2 ships. Spolier Alert: We ended up booking Summit for another cruise next year so you can guess where I am going with this review.

Comparing these two ships is interesting because they are remarkably similar for being two different lines. They are very close in size and have almost identical amenities. They are both older ships and may not have as many of the "extras" as the bigger ships in their fleets, but I think they both are still great options for people that are looking to have a great time on a nice relaxing vacation. That said, just as the OP is alluding to it seemed to us that the Summit edged out the Dawn in so many different little ways that separately would not be a big deal, but added up really made a difference. For instance, I think the decor on the Summit is a little nicer. The layout and seating in the theater are much better on the Summit. Subjectively, the staff seemed friendlier most of the time on the Summit. Also subjectively, the food in the MDR and the buffet tasted better on X. I will say though the Specialties on Dawn were on par with Summit and they are much cheaper so that point goes to Dawn.

Like I said it was not any one thing between the 2 that was vastly different but just enough little things that made us happier on Summit. That said however, with the right itinerary/price/timing I would be more than willing to book on another NCL cruise, or a cruise on a different X ship. It just has worked out with our availability and options available at the time we just keep ending up back on the Summit.

What wonderful luck! Hope it continues.

 

We usually stay at the Westin on the Beach' date=' but for Jan/19 we moved over the the W. for 4 nights.

 

Did you like it?[/quote']

We did like the W. Some of the reviews said it was not as good as their other properties but we had a great time. Of course we were coming from winter in Wisconsin so a Motel 6 in Fort Lauderdale would have been a huge step up, but the W was great. Very friendly service from everyone and we had a delicious meal at the Steakhouse there. Nice hotel and watching the sunrise from the balcony was awesome.

Thanks to all of you. We really did have a great trip. So much so that we booked an 11 night down to the ABC's on Reflection next year. By the way, I did buy that lottery ticket after we got back but I think I used up all the luck.

So we just got back from our Summit cruise last week and I am kicking myself for not buying a lottery ticket before we embarked. We were having a crazy streak of good luck.

This was our third cruise overall, second on Celebrity, and both of those were on Summit. Our good luck started in Fort Lauderdale. We spent two nights there pre-cruise and we ended up trying Priceline for a room. We chose their "Express Bid" (or something like that) and we ended up getting the "W" for $202 a night. Felt pretty good about that but it got better. When we checked in we found out they gave us an upgrade to a beautiful corner suite. Awesome room with a huge balcony.

We felt a little disappointed to leave that room for the Oceanview room we had booked on Summit. But as we were packing our bags to leave for the port we checked our email and received a new confirmation email. Our reservations now showed us in AquaClass room 9100. We were pretty certain that must have been a mistake and were just waiting for someone to realize it when we checked in at the port. When we did check in they showed both our names and the people who originally reserved that cabin in the room so we figured the jig was up, but when the supervisor came over she said the upgrade was correct. Is it normal to be upgraded all the way from Oceanview to AquaClass? I would have thought one level would have been lucky but this seemed too much to ask for. Anyway, we obviously enjoyed AquaClass and really appreciate the great vacation that we got to experience. The balcony is pretty small for that room, but still much better than not having one at all so we were not complaining at all. Also really enjoyed eating in Blu. I think I may have gotten a little spoiled for future cruises.

On top of it all, I even ended up a couple hundred up in the casino. Really should have bought that lottery ticket...

Almost forgot the most important question. Do you need a data plan in order to make calls and send texts to people on the ship?

We are going the week before you kissmeyoufool. I will try to leave the ship in good shape for you but I can not make any promises my friends will do the same. :D

Hello. We are cruising on the Dawn next month. There are going to be 9 of us in 5 cabins all over the ship going in all different directions so communication could be a challenge. Has anybody used the iConcierge app on the Dawn lately? How much was it? Did it work well?

Not sure which beach the excursion goes to but I can make a beach suggestion in Antigua for you. We were there in February on the Celebrity Summit and went to Valley Church beach. What a great day! It was about a 20 minute cab ride and cost about $20. I think chair rental was like $15. The beach is beautiful white sand and shallow blue waters. Jetskis available to rent reasonably. And if you are looking for a great beach massage you will find it there at Pam's Wellness Center. I had surprised my partner with a hour long massage (for only $50) and he said it was so good I decided to get one myself. It was a better massage than I got on the ship's spa for less than all third the price. Overall I think it was my favorite beach day.

We are sailing on the Summit next week and we are getting our finances in order. We are planning on using our credit cards for all of our shipboard purchases but would prefer not to use them much in ports. We have a couple of $500 prepaid Amex gift cards that we were thinking about using. Has anybody had experience using these in Carribean shops and restaurants and did you have any issues with them?

We are planning on upgrading to premium when we get on the Summit in a couple weeks but I am curious if anybody knows if the bartenders get some sort of commission/compensation when they upgrade somebody. If so, I will hold off on upgrading until I am at my bar of choice.

We had the same conundrum. We were originally booked on the Reflection for our first cruise on Feb 6, 2016 but after some serious thought we reconsidered and switched to the Summit and the southern itinerary. We did have to downgrade to an Ocean view (verandah all sold out) but we saved $500 and picked up $300 OBC. I loved the idea of adding Barbados, Antigua, and St Lucia since we have never been to any of them. It also means that we are going into San Juan 2 days earlier so we will really get to see it instead of just a quick evening stroll. I know we are giving up some dining options and such on Reflection but I guess that just means we will have to book another cruise on her next time!

Hey Havn'fun. So we are on the same cruise as you. So did you just call them and mention this sale and they gave you the OBC? And can you still take advantage of future sales if they offer something even better? Appreciate your advice.

Gelato seems to remind me of something else. Even when it's not good it's still pretty darn good! ;):eek::D

This was our first cruise and we were having a hard time making this same decision, with the exception that we were actually leaning towards the Eurodam. After reading hundreds of reviews and considering we are nonsmokers we ended up choosing the Reflection. Feeling pretty good about our choice but already counting the days until February 6th. Hope you are thrilled with either choice.:)