Just Back From Summit Western Caribbean

Just back yesterday from great 7 nightWestern Caribbean cruise. Booked it on the internet last November and got a great price. What I learned most is don't spend a lot of time planning your cruise because once you get on the ship there are so many things you can do you might not want to have everything preplanned. We were allowed on the ship at 11:30 in the a.m.but not in the room until 1:00. You could eat at the buffet, use the pool, tour the ship.
We didn't make the cruise critic party because there were other things going on that we wanted to do. We were in Balcony Concierge Cabin 9106. Great location (there is an overhang but it was slightly smaller than our neighbors on our left).Advertised as Starboard side cabin but most days we were looking at the port side of the islands we docked at.This might answer questions about which side of ship to book. It all depends where you will be going and how the port is set for docking or tendering. Pool and buffet area was just out the door and up the steps. We got a deal and only had to pay $50 more a person for this cabin. If you can get a deal on CC class take it. It was right underneath the Waterfall Grill so we could hear walking above us but it was not too loud. You get champagne in your room 1st day, fresh flowers (not every day), fresh fruit, fluffier bathrobes, better towels, showerhead,pillow choices, and little hordeurves everyday plus priority disembarkation at ports. Ship was very smooth, I did take my seasick pill everyday but not sure I would have really needed it. Some days were slightly more bouncy than others but overall pretty calm the whole week except the last day at sea that was pretty windy, cloudy and seas had higher waves than all the previous days.
I had requested table for 6 and we ended up at a table for 2 for the week. First night I thought I would be disappointed being alone but there were lots of couples at tables for 2 and my husband and I really enjoy just talking over the day at dinner. We moved one night to the next table because another couple was alone at a table for 6 but the lady complained the entire dinner about the food at dinner and why she should be cruising the higher priced lines so we moved back to our table for 2 for the rest of the cruise. I think she got the message because they sort of stopped talking to us. We're not picky eaters and we thought dinner selections were really good (some better than others. Portions are not huge but you can ask for extra.) We found beef selections were the best choice. We really liked the escargot in garlic butter and the assistant maitre'd made a note of it and we asked for it the next night and got it. You have to tell them ahead of time of you want something not on the menu. On second formal night they had lobster. We both ordered lobster tail and veal corden bleu. Lobster WAS NOT mushy. It was very good but one tail would not be enough for most people so order 2 or ask for an additional entree. We went to the Normandie on one of the casual nights so we wouldn't miss dressing up for dinner. I wore a dressier pant outfit and husband wore sport coat and collared shirt. There were a lot of men in suit and tie but there were others dressed like hubby. Everyone is right with praising this restaurant. It is a fabulous experience from the minute you sit down until you get up. We had 8:30 reservation(made it immediately when we got on the ship on embarkation day)Dinner lasted about 2 1/2 hours. You actually have about 4 people waiting on you during your dinner.I was confused about what to order for dessert so waiter made suggestion and said he would bring me a little surprise. Surpise was a third dessert of 6 Michael Roux mini desserts. We were so stuffed we never got to eat the little petit fours that are the last thing put on your table. We were so impressed with service that we left a $20 tip and told our head waiter to buy his crew a drink after their shift. We were confused about tipping extra but our head waiter spent a lot of time talking to us about his cruising experience and even gave us a special little book all about the Normandie and had his wait staff all sign it. We went mostly to Martini Bar and sat overlooking the Rendez-Vous lounge with music before dinner every night.
Ports were Key West, Cozumel, Belize(Great trip on the Coral Breeze, top notch outfit,, we snorked with both stingrays and nurse sharks), Roatan (did the Bay Island Beach Resort with great snorkeling right off the beach), Grand Cayman (did the Yacht Safir excursion from the ship, expensive but we loved it. we actually went to area that is deeper with stingrays and snorkeled with them for 45 minutes. It wasn't advertised as doing this so I'm not sure they go there every trip)
Overall cruise experience was wonderful. Beautiful ship,ambiance,great staff,shows we went to were entertaining. We didn't go to all the shows so I can't give you an opinion on all of them. I will mention to read your daily cruise news left in your room every night and watch you in room tv for port information. You do not hear annoucements in your room (they rarely make any on the ship). We actually missed our Eagle Ray tour in Cozumel because I ended up locking our room safe by mistake using the wrong code and we had to call for help and by the time we got off the ship it was too late to get to Eagle Ray dock). The ship does change time to match port times. They leave a little note in your room the nights that the time is going to change telling you how much to move your clock/watch back or forward.
Woke up back in Fort Lauderdale already docked at 6:15 a.m. Had a letter in our room to be in Cinema at 8:40 a.m. at the latest. Got off the ship at 9:00, got luggage, went through customs like a breeze and were at the airport by 9:30. If you have questions just ask.

Celebrity Summit 4/30/04
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Thanks for taking the time to review your cruise. I know it takes time, but most of us really enjoy hearing about the cruises! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I'm not sure if I read your "problem" with the port docking or not, so if I'm "way off" please forgive me. When you stay in a port cabin, it is not because you will be facing the island pier (port). It is called port because it is on the left side of the the ship facing forward. Your starboard cabin was on the right side of the ship and as you said depending on how the ship maneuvers to the pier it might face the pier itself.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your Celebrity cruise. They are my favorite cruise line!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

Great review. We were in that same cabin for our honeymoon in November, and we loved the location. I'm an extremely light sleeper, and we never heard anything above us that would have kept us awake. Sounds like you had a great time - thanks again for sharing!



November, 2003 - Summit - Honeymoon Cruise!

Thank you so much for this review. Loved reading it. We will be on Summit in 9088 in July to Alaska and am so looking forward to a little special treatment from concierge level. Still haven't decided to try the Normandie, but your review may influence us to give it a go.

Lois: Thanks for the great review! I was also on this sailing celebrating my birthday on May 1st. We had an SS suite complete with butler!!! Ooooh sooo spoiled!!! We had a 3 hour dinner one night at Normandie. Were you escorted to the ladies room as I was??? This was my 5th cruise on Celebrity but 1st on Summit and it was the best!!! Do you have post cruise withdrawals yet??

Hi Nanci! Hi Lois! I was on this cruise as well and had the best time! The ship is beautiful [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
And yes Nanci, they do escort all the ladies to the woman's room!
tennlady....I think you will enjoy the Normandie..I would suggest you try it, it is a whole different dining experience!

Hi Lois, thanks for informatin on the Summit, we are going on this ship May 21st, and was wondering what movie's where play in the Cinema or on TV. Any current movie's my hubby is concered he watches TV on cruises. Sounds like your were to busy to catch a movie.Just wondering, thanks sue

After the "port" cabin didn't pan out for you, did you or did you not attempt to weigh the anchor?

I really didn't care which side of ship I was on. I knew the difference between port and starboard ahead of time but I have seen some posts from people asking which side of ship they should book their room on in order to be anchored on the port side of ship on the islands. Just letting them know you don't really know ahead of time.
As for the restroom, I didn't use it while dining but now I wish I would have. Another little perk of the Normandie, I guess.
We didn't watch any movies in the room, you had to pay for in-room movies. The movies playing in the theatre were "House of Sand and Fog", "Master and Commander","The Company","Monster","Seabiscuit", "Lord of the Rings II", "Return of the King". Pretty current. You have to make a real effort to do much of anything after you've been on an active snorkeling tour for half the day. The sun and the exercise takes a lot out of us and the alcohol in the evening doesn't help. We had late seating for dinner. The show times are varied. Sometimes you go after dinner and sometimes they are scheduled earlier so you go before dinner. Best show that I enjoyed was Danny Walton, singer/comedian, but this was his last cruise on the Summit for a while. I thought he was a great singer. Very professional, he had his own CD to sell and of course I had to buy one.

Celebrity Summit 4/30/04
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