Notquite50

Hey Everyone - getting set to sail tomorrow morning and just had a very simple question. Can anyone, who has recently sailed on the Summit, tell me if there is Sweet-n-Low and Lipton Tea. These are our prefered brands ( especiall sween n low in the coffee). If not - I will simply throw some packs in my bag. Thanks!

Hi everyone - Wondering what others have done in Martinique? I noticed many of the beaches do not have chair rentals and my back won't like sitting in the sand all day. We are considering getting a day pass to Club Med - but if anyone has any other suggestions, I would be very grateful!

Thank you everyone for you comments. I have taken them all down and can't wait to share them with my friend. We sail in about 14 weeks so the countdown in officially on but I hate to get overly excited because as I wish for the days to pass quickly - it also means summer break passes quickly and before you know it we will be back to work and cooler weather will be settling in. We both agreed the REAL count starts on the 1st day of school. (Please don't get me wrong - I still have 1 month to go - and I'm missing my students so much I'm ready to go back tomorrow) - what's that saying Distance makes the heart go fonder..

The cabin is right around a corner from the elevators but far enough away that you can't hear people getting off of them. I believe it's the same size as other ocean view cabins. It was fairly quiet. Across the hall is a little hallway with a Crew Members Only door which caused a little noise but nothing that bothered us. We're late sleepers so we did notice more noise between 10am-12noon. There's also little to no passenger foot traffic because there are only 4 cabins past 3009.

Thanks a bunch - this is exactly what I was wondering.

Rhayne - Thanks you - We were just hoping to find out if the location of the cabin was convenient, quiet and if it was any larger than the normal ocean view cabins. Hope you had a wonderful time. We leave in 15 weeks.

Cruiserstimesthree - thank you. I did search the boards but couldn't find anything. I'm going to try youtube - thanks for that idea!

I booked our cruise through Celebrity and the gentleman I spoke with was fantastic. I think he assigned my cabin as soon as we hung up because it was assigned by the next day.

Has anyone stayed in Cabin 3009 on the Summit? We went with a guarantee cabin and it was just assigned. Thanks!

Mmm...they all sound delicious. I will have to definitely have to try the mudslide. I'm not a martini girl but with the premium package I am willing to give them a second or third or fourth try. I remember on RC there was a pina colada with strawberry daiquiri drizzled on top. All this talk I think I just might have to make a frozen cocktail and take it outside here in NJ and just pretend I am on a cruise ship with someone making me dinner.

So what's your favorite drink on the Summit? Are there any speciality cocktails that are to die for?:D (it seems very wrong that I am posting this questions at 8:00am on a Sunday Morning before church)

MarKay - Thanks for that detailed report. I've already cut and pasted it into our notes.

Kenevenpar - I will check out the roll call - thank you

ghstudio - Thank you - I love freshly made waffles so I will try and find that station. Don't worry about us making friends. I have no problem introducing myself and chatting the night away. That's what life is all about - being kind to others and not taking yourself to seriously. :D

Just booked a cruise to the Southern Caribbean on Summit. (PR, St. Croix, Martinique, Dominica, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, PR) in Nov this year. This will be our first time on Celebrity - (the travelers are myself and my best friend). I am turing 50 and this trip is a gift from my DH - the ultimate girls getaway. I am hoping I can rely on your expertise in helping plan this once in a lifetime trip. We are pretty easy to please but I have asthma and am very sensitive to smoke - other than that we are happy with anything. Here are my questions.

Best Place for Sailaway

Where should we go for lunch upon embarkation

Best Place for Breakfast (is there a spot outside to eat)

Best Pool Bar (Non Smoking)

Best Pool – with pool service

Any recommended shows/experiences we should do?

Anything special that we really should experience or do while on board?

Anything we should do ahead of the sail date?

Anything we should do immediately upon boarding?

Planning on getting a taxi from San Juan Airport - is this ok?

Should we book flights thru Summit or just do it ourselves?

Any recommended excursions?

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to respond. I know it will help to make our trip that much better.

Anna:)

Thank you everyone for your responses. We decided to cancel our reservation on Princess and instead cruise on the Summit. It came down to cost. Although we are also switching from a Veranda (on CB) to an Ocean View, I was able to save over $650pp. With the Big - Better - Best Sale - I got all the perks, which included the premium drink pkg, pre-paid tips, internet and a $150 OBC. Once again - Thank you for all your assistance over these last couple of months.

Thanks everyone for your opinions and suggestions. We decided to jump ship and canceled the resize for Princess. Although we are going from a veranda to an Ocean View the difference in cost was over $650 per person. We were able to book the Summit with the Big- Better- Best promotion and got tips, premium drink pkg, and internet included. Plus $150 OBC. I feel very confident that we made the right decision and can't wait until November. Thanks Again!!!

Planning a 50th Birthday cruise with my best friend. We are leaving our DH and kids behind for a once in a lifetime girls getaway. We tentatively booked Caribbean Princess out of FL going to the ABC islands with a Veranda, but now we are considering switching to Celebrity Summit with an Ocean View leaving from PR, and going to St. Thomas, Martinique, St. Croix, St. Kitts, and Dominica.

Realizing that what one person likes- another may not, I would very much appreciate if you would be kind enough to weigh in with your opinions and suggestions on if we should switch.

Here is our back story. We are turning 50, non smokers, love the beach. We are both pretty easy to please but would also appreciate good food. We are both from NJ. Flights to FL and PR are comparable in price, so I don't think that will influence our decision. We both have sailed on Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas and my friend did the Oasis.

Here are some of our questions/concerns:

Ship condition - From what I have read on these boards, the CB may need some TLC. I fully understand it's ship and it's not brand new, but I want to make sure there are no glaring issues - such as broken bathrooms.

Adult only pool - Let's face it - we are leaving our own children home for a reason and we are both teachers so the idea of an adult only only pool is very appealing. I LOVED the Adult only pool on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas.

Smoking: Neither of us are smokers and I have severe asthma so smoke is an issue for me. Just want to make sure that if we are not in the smoking areas there won't be lingering smells. (no offense to smokers). This maybe impossible to answer but does one cruise line attract more smokers than the other?

Itinerary - This is a tough one because the days at sea on Princess are appealing because of the down time and the ability to just veg out - but on the other hand the islands for Celebrity are also really appealing because there will be many islands I've never been to and may be great to visit.. So, quite honestly I really don't know what I'm asking of you here or what I want, but please feel free to comment.

Entertainment: Again - we are pretty easy to please. If someone is going to sing to me and try to entertain me - I'm pretty sure I will be happy. Can anyone shed light into what else there is - i.e. Bingo.

Spa: If we go Summit - we only have 1 sea day so this may not even be an issue. If we stay with CB, there are 4 sea days so we may consider the Spa.

Specialty Restaurants vs. Food in the MD.

Drink Pkg.- if we book with Celebrity the basic drink pkg. is included. On CB we would need to purchase a drink package.

As I've already mentioned - I TRULY appreciate any advice you can give that will help us make our decision and I recognize that I am not really asking specific questions - I'm just looking to you guys as experts for suggestions on what would influence your decision.

Planning a 50th Birthday cruise with my best friend. We are leaving our DH and kids behind for a once in a lifetime girls getaway. We tentatively booked Caribbean Princess out of FL going to the ABC islands with a Veranda, but now we are considering switching to Celebrity Summit with an Ocean View leaving from PR, and going to St. Thomas, Martinique, St. Croix, St. Kitts, and Dominica.

Realizing that what one person likes- another may not, I would very much appreciate if you would be kind enough to weigh in with your opinions and suggestions on if we should switch.

Here is our back story. We are turning 50, non smokers, love the beach. We are both pretty easy to please but would also appreciate good food. We are both from NJ. Flights to FL and PR are comparable in price, so I don't think that will influence our decision. We both have sailed on Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas and my friend did the Oasis.

Here are some of our questions/concerns:

Ship condition - From what I have read on these boards, the CB may need some TLC. I fully understand it's ship and it's not brand new, but I want to make sure there are no glaring issues - such as broken bathrooms.

Adult only pool - Let's face it - we are leaving our own children home for a reason and we are both teachers so the idea of an adult only only pool is very appealing. I LOVED the Adult only pool on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas.

Smoking: Neither of us are smokers and I have severe asthma so smoke is an issue for me. Just want to make sure that if we are not in the smoking areas there won't be lingering smells. (no offense to smokers).

Itinerary - This is a tough one because the days at sea on Princess are appealing because of the down time and the ability to just veg out - but on the other hand the islands for Celebrity are also really appealing because there will be many islands I've never been to and may be great to visit.. So, quite honestly I really don't know what I'm asking of you here or what I want, but please feel free to comment.:confused:

Entertainment: Again - we are pretty easy to please. If someone is going to sing to me and try to entertain me - I'm pretty sure I will be happy. Can anyone shed light into what else there is - i.e. Bingo.

Spa: If we go Summit - we only have 1 sea day so this may not even be an issue.

Specialty Restaurants vs. Food in the MD.

Drink Pkg.- if we book with Celebrity the basic drink pkg. is included. Does anyone know if this will include drinks like Baybreeze, beer, and drinks with little umbrellas. If not - I assume we can upgrade the package.

As I've already mentioned - I TRULY appreciate any advice you can give that will help us make our decision.

Thank you 5:00 Somewhere - That's exactly what I needed to know. We are looking for a quiet spot to lay in the sun while drinks with little umbrellas are delivered to our chair. Husband and kids and students are all being left behind and all we want is peace and quiet. I think we might reserve some time in the Sanctuary - but if there is somewhere on board that meets our needs - we won't want to. On the other hand - from what I have read the Sanctuary sounds lovely.

I know the Sanctuary is adult only but are there any other pools on CB that are adult only and have waiter service? As always - Thanks a million!

Its been a couple of years now but when we visited St. Martin my DH and I did the Segway tour and it was fabulous. So much fun and only a couple of hours. Afterward we got a taxi and the driver took us to a very nice resort (sorry I don't remember the name) and we spent the rest of the time on the beach. We were able to rent chairs and there was even a waitress.

St. Thomas - we have always visited Megans Bay (sp?). you can rent chairs and there is a place for lunch.

Thanks again! I think we will purchase the pkg. I seems from everyones comments that it really is quite easy to reach the max $$ needed to break even each day. Or goal is to make this trip as easy as possible so I think this is the choice for us :-)

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I can see how this is a personal choice and I appreciate everyone's response. My problem is I go round and round about the cost of the package and if we will drink enough to make it worth while, and then I wonder why it wouldn't be advantageous to place the same amount of money on an OBC. If this was done - and you didn't drink 56.00 per day - then theoretically you would get the money back. Right? and if I am right - why would't everyone do this. Is it just because it is easier to get the package? And honestly -if this is the reason I am completely ok with this but I just keep getting the feeling I am missing something. Thanks for putting up with this new Princess Cruiser.

Why would someone purchase a drink package if instead money can be placed in an OBC account. Am I missing something??? Maybe I don't understand, but from reading the posts here on CC, I am under the impression that I can gift myself OBC and then use that money for the spa, alcoholic drinks, soda, water, etc. and then whatever I don't use will be refunded to me.

Am I right? Because I've been trying to justify the cost of the drink package and from my calculations we need to drink about 7 drinks a day ( YIKES! Will I even remember the cruise:D) not to mention the days we are off the boat not drinking anything until the evening. We definitely want to just enjoy ourselves and not nickel and dime decisions we make while on board - so if a drink package is a better decision please let me know. Thanks in advance!

Thanks everyone ! We are staying put!

What is the current fee for the Sanctuary on CB? Since this will be our first Princess Cruise and would reserve this upon boarding, is it possible to book for multiple days and then if we decide it's not for us can we cancel the remaining days? Thanks in advance!