A Bermuda Cruise in Review: Summit (with pics!)

[ChampionCruiser]

On our May 27th Summit cruise they had small ship replica ornaments in the shop for $12.95. I thought about getting one but chose the magnet instead, that way I'm reminded year round of the great time I had on the Summit!

 

They must have been out of them on your cruise :(.

 

That was my guess. Well, that's a bummer. I did buy a magnet in its place so it'll have to do.

[Robynljt]

I'd be happy to pick one up for you if they have them. I will be sailing on July 8.

[Shooraq]

Love the review and photos! Congrats on your graduation!

[portofrome]

Congratulations on your graduation. Thanks for your photos and review.

[ChampionCruiser]

I'd be happy to pick one up for you if they have them. I will be sailing on July 8.

 

Really? That would be terrific! I could give you my email if that works best. It's worth a try :).

[avid]

Great review..glad you enjoyed your cruise as much as we did ours..

Here is another momento of your sail away

http://www.inletphotos.com/Sail-AwayVideos/Celebrity-Cruises-Sail-away/Celebrity-Summit-Sail-away/22911019_26zvfk#!i=1897747765&k=tvBTsMn&lb=1&s=A

 

Well, here goes. This will be the first of MANY installments. I'll do my best to finish asap for you lucky ones cruising this Sunday!

 

Day 1: Bayonne, NJ

 

Sunday, June 10th had finally arrived! Even though it had only been a whopping 15 days since my last cruise, nothing can compare to embarkation morning. I had flown up the day before and met my family in Newark. We stayed at the Wyndham Garden hotel near the airport and I don’t have any complaints (or praises).

 

We woke up (of course) early and ate breakfast at the hotel before packing the car. We were on the road by 10:15. My sister and I were onboard by 11 on the last cruise and we were hoping the same would be true this time. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

 

We made it to Cape Liberty around 10:30 and I snapped one last picture with my phone before heading to the terminal. It definitely wasn't the prettiest port I've sailed from and reminded me of the Baltimore and Charleston ports. The Summit cheered me up, though!

 

 

We breezed through security and check in and were waiting to board by 11:00, along with many others. We thought check in went too smoothly and we were right. An announcement was made that there was a coast guard inspection onboard and embarkation would be delayed until 12:30 :(. That wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for, especially since we were assigned to group 16. Thankfully, the wait wasn’t quite so terrible because boarding began a little before noon and we were on the ship soon after.

 

Once aboard, we made the mistake of exploring the ship before eating lunch. Yes, I took some nice pictures and learned my way around, but heading up to the Oceanview Café an hour later was a nightmare. The casual buffets on any ship are crowded enough on a normal day, but it was literally impossible to find a table for the four of us. We ended up with a table for two and took turns standing up. I’ll know better next time. I’m still learning after ten cruises!

 

Cabins weren’t ready yet, so we continued with our self-guided tour after lunch. After a dull looking morning, the weather had thankfully cleared up. It’s a good distance away, but it was clear enough to see the Statue of Liberty across the water.

 

 

Cape Liberty is an industrial port and is functional rather than aesthetic. It gets the job done, though.

 

[Robynljt]

Sure! If Im able to get one I'll let you know.

[ChampionCruiser]

Great review..glad you enjoyed your cruise as much as we did ours..

Here is another momento of your sail away

http://www.inletphotos.com/Sail-AwayVideos/Celebrity-Cruises-Sail-away/Celebrity-Summit-Sail-away/22911019_26zvfk#!i=1897747765&k=tvBTsMn&lb=1&s=A

 

Thanks for sharing! It's hard to believe I was on it. I would give anything to be back on board :).

[ChampionCruiser]

Sure! If Im able to get one I'll let you know.

 

That would be terrific!

[ChampionCruiser]

Moving on...

 

Day 2 - At Sea

 

My favorite days on a cruise are generally port days, but I love relaxing on days at sea as well. I won’t bore anyone with an overly specific review of the three sea days. This is mostly because my sister and I spent most of the time lounging out on deck with our books. It wasn’t the most exciting way to spend our days, but it was wonderful. We needed to rest up for Bermuda, anyway!

 

After a monsoon on our only sea day last month, we were excited to see beautiful weather! We were lucky to have weather like this for MOST of the cruise.

 

 

The Star had caught up with us overnight.

 

 

We didn’t lie out ALL day, though. All four of us went to the “Heartbeat of the Operation” galley tour at 10:00 along with what seemed like most of the ship. It was a great tour, both informative and fun. The executive chef, Pascal, was hilarious. He made many appearances throughout the week, which I thought was neat. The head chef has never been so involved on my past cruises.

 

 

[ChampionCruiser]

The galley tour was the only event my sister and I attended during the day. The weather was too perfect to go back indoors and we had to head back to the cabin early for dinner. It was the first formal night of the cruise and four people getting ready in one cabin is always an adventure.

 

The weather really couldn’t have been better!

 

 

We spent most of the day lounging on deck 12, aft. The wind is mostly blocked here and it was very quiet.

 

 

The Summit is definitely a more formal ship than most I’ve sailed on and it was clear on formal night. Sure, some people had different definitions of “formal”, but the dress guidelines were mostly followed both in the dining room and theater.

 

We always enjoy formal nights and actually missed them when we sailed with Norwegian and even Carnival to an extent.

 

 

Dinner was very good and the service was terrific. I ordered the beef carpaccio (good), strawberry soup (very good), beef “tournado” (great), and apple tart (very good). Everyone enjoyed their meal at our table and there was quite a bit of sharing.

 

The first production show “Stars in their Eyes” was good but the weakest of the three (in mine and my sister’s opinion). The Captain’s Gala Toast beforehand was neat, though. Captain “Theo” was funny and it’s always nice to see the officers.

 

 

(I didn’t mind the free alcohol, either.)

 

 

After a calming day at sea, my sister and I roamed for a good while before heading to our favorite deck space to read: our balcony! We really missed having one on the last cruise and loved ending each day there.

 

Next up: Day 3, at sea

[ChampionCruiser]

Day 3 - At Sea

 

The second sea day was almost identical to the first: beautiful weather, lounge chairs, and no complaints :). I was prepared to handle really rough seas in the Atlantic but both days were pretty calm.

 

 

It was a little warmer than the day before and the pool deck was more crowded. Notice how empty the pool is, though. The water was COLD! My sister and I swam for about five minutes before running to the T-pool to warm up. That was actually our only time in the waterfall pool.

 

 

After that experiment we headed back to our deck 12 spot to enjoy the sunshine away from the crowd. We also went to the first karaoke show of the cruise (which is always fun to watch) as well as a couple of music events before the evening. Dinner was again good (predictable, right?) and I ordered the beef ragout (great), lemon-pepper chicken pasta (good), and crepe suzette (I thought it was delicious but others found it WAY too sweet).

 

The entertainer for the night was a guest comedian who was pretty funny (and clean). Unlike the night before, my sister and I stayed up late with “Dancing with the Stripes” (which was a ton of fun) and the late night dance party.

 

It was another GREAT day at sea but I was definitely ready for Bermuda!

 

Be warned, there are MANY more pictures to come. I couldn’t stop taking them on the island :).

 

Next up: Day 4, Bermuda!

[Lois R]

Hi, thanks for sharing your experience with us....and you look beautiful

in your long dress.:) The colors are lovely!:)

[LEtue]

Thanks so much for the great review with pictures!! I really enjoyed reading it since I just booked the Summit for next year. :D

[NewSalt]

What a great review! Your enthusiasm is contagious. It really makes me look forward to our repeat cruise next month.

 

One word on the appearance of the Bayonne port. All of the NJ destinations viewed by those who are not residents have been designed to be unattractive - the Turnpike, Newark Airport, Bayonne, the Meadowlands. Our state is full - there is no more room, and we actively discourage anyone from moving here so you don't get to see the beautiful beaches, green fields and farms or rolling hills and mountains. We try to foster the impression that the state is one vast oil refinery. ;)

[cocobakerchica]

What a great review! Your enthusiasm is contagious. It really makes me look forward to our repeat cruise next month.

 

One word on the appearance of the Bayonne port. All of the NJ destinations viewed by those who are not residents have been designed to be unattractive - the Turnpike, Newark Airport, Bayonne, the Meadowlands. Our state is full - there is no more room, and we actively discourage anyone from moving here so you don't get to see the beautiful beaches, green fields and farms or rolling hills and mountains. We try to foster the impression that the state is one vast oil refinery. ;)

 

<rofl>Shhh, NewSalt....Stop giving away our state secrets!! Out of staters aren't supposed to know about all the gorgeousness we have here in "Dirty Jersey", the highways and strip malls are our claim to fame! Seriously, I did laugh at the description of Cape Liberty.

 

ChampionCruiser, please pass on to your sister that she looked lovely in her dress. I'm sure your family is pleased to have produced such lovely young people. Your pictures are really beautiful, I'm looking forward to reading/seeing more!

[ChampionCruiser]

What a great review! Your enthusiasm is contagious. It really makes me look forward to our repeat cruise next month.

 

One word on the appearance of the Bayonne port. All of the NJ destinations viewed by those who are not residents have been designed to be unattractive - the Turnpike, Newark Airport, Bayonne, the Meadowlands. Our state is full - there is no more room, and we actively discourage anyone from moving here so you don't get to see the beautiful beaches, green fields and farms or rolling hills and mountains. We try to foster the impression that the state is one vast oil refinery. ;)

 

haha that's great to know! At least it's intentional unlike some other places i've been to :). Too bad I have friends from NJ, though, who have shown me what the rest of the state looks like. I'll keep it a secret!

[ChampionCruiser]

<rofl>Shhh, NewSalt....Stop giving away our state secrets!! Out of staters aren't supposed to know about all the gorgeousness we have here in "Dirty Jersey", the highways and strip malls are our claim to fame! Seriously, I did laugh at the description of Cape Liberty.

 

ChampionCruiser, please pass on to your sister that she looked lovely in her dress. I'm sure your family is pleased to have produced such lovely young people. Your pictures are really beautiful, I'm looking forward to reading/seeing more!

 

I'll pass it along, thank you. I'm writing the day 4 review now and hope to post it tonight or tomorrow at the latest!

[librarylady19]

Nice to see lots of photos of the "new" Summit. Can't wait to see your photos of Bermuda and hear about what you did there.

[newcruisergal]

Thank you for this wonderful review and beautiful pictures! Congrats on your graduation and what sounds to be a really interesting career choice :)

[cruiseacecat]

Really enjoying your great review and pics. Please keep it coming. :)

 

Anne

[ChampionCruiser]

And now on to the good stuff!

 

Day 4: Bermuda

 

The past three days on the Summit were amazing, but this was the day I was looking forward to. Bermuda was one of my bucket list destinations for a high school project and I was finally here! Naturally, I was too excited to sleep well and I gave up around 6:45. Instead, I headed out on the balcony to watch us sail into port.

 

The ship had just passed St. George’s and was making its way along the coast. I’m glad I chose a port side cabin, because the view was great.

 

 

I could already tell it was going to be another great day!

 

 

Soon after, I headed up to deck 12 in order to have a better view as we pulled into port. We couldn’t have asked for better weather.

 

 

 

I had to force myself to stop taking pictures. I mean, I wasn’t even off the ship yet :rolleyes:

 

[ChampionCruiser]

The Norwegian Star had passed us and beat us into port by about 15 minutes. She was docking as we were pulling in.

 

 

It was nice to finally meet up after two and a half days of seeing each other from a distance.

 

 

 

We docked a little ahead of schedule (around 8:00). The Star docked at the Heritage Wharf and we were next door at Kings Wharf.

 

Here's the Royal Naval Dockyard, our home for the next three

days.

 

 

Welcome to Bermuda!

 

[ChampionCruiser]

Thanks mostly to the CC Bermuda board, I had concrete plans for the first two days on the island. I didn’t want to think about leaving, so I left plans for day 3 open. The goal for day 1 was to explore the St. George’s area. I just finished my senior design project a month ago and my group designed a cruise ship specifically for St. George’s. After tons of research, I wanted to visit the town myself!

 

After a quick breakfast, my sister and I separated from my aunt and uncle. We spent all three days apart so we could explore the island on our own pace and see what we were interested in. My sister and I were more interested in beaches than shopping, so it worked out perfectly. Anyway, from this point on, “our” or “we” means my sister and I.

 

It always feels weird to be back on land after a couple of sea days.

 

 

Our first stop was at the public transportation booth right in front of the ships. We bought the 3-day transportation passes for $28 each which gave us unlimited access to all ferries and buses. It was definitely the best buy of the trip since it basically allowed us to see the entire island on our own.

 

Here is one of the newer catamaran ferries. There are still some older monohulls but they are slower. From the Dockyard, the catamaran ferries got us to St. George’s in about 40 minutes and Hamilton in about 20. It took over 30 minutes from Hamilton back to the Dockyard on the older monohull.

 

[ChampionCruiser]

We barely made it to the ferry in time for the 9:45 departure to St. Georges, so we didn’t get very good seats. This was a little frustrating because the view along the way is terrific.

 

I did stand up to take some pictures, though. Here is the reason most cruise ships (greater than 680 ft. length or 98 ft. beam) can’t make it to St. George’s: The Town Cut.

 

 

I fell in love with the town before we even docked. I could tell why it was one of Yahoo’s 10 most picturesque villages.

 

 

 

This is where the few cruise ships that still make calls dock. I would love to dock here but thankfully it’s a small island and a quick ferry ride away.