Review: Summit, Southern Carribean, 4/6/2013

[TruRed76]

I am glad that you are finding this helpful! If you haven't figured it out yet, I firmly believe that you can never have too much information! The more I read about the ports and excursions as well as the ship, the less I worried and the more I was able to enjoy my trip. Plus, I just like sharing pictures :)

[TruRed76]

I left off with us being dropped back off at the port terminal after a beautiful day on the beach. We made arrangements to meet up with some of our group for dinner and then all went our separate ways to explore. I feel that I should clarify when I say we did some shopping. You may remember earlier that I said that I hate to shop - and I do. When I say we went shopping in the ports, I was looking for souvenirs for the people taking care of my children, gifts for the kids, and RUM! We loved all the different flavors and types of rum that we found in the ports and tried to pick up at least one bottle of locally distilled rum from each stop. In total, we brought back 10 bottles! More on packing and getting through customs with it later...

 

Anyway, out of all of our ports, I liked Antigua the best for the shopping and atmosphere available in the terminal/duty-free section. They had their upscale shops but they also had some colorful, off-the-wall places, too. And we ran into quite a few local characters! For the most part, they were very nice and not too pushy. The ladies would be sitting outside their stalls and just ask if you needed help - they didn't try to show you things or push anything in your face. There was music and just a fun energy to the place. Very different from the type of shopping we saw in St. Thomas, for example.

 

So after we bought our bottles of rum and picked up a few things for those back home, we headed back on the ship. As I said, we had rum. Each time we went through security to get back on the ship with the rum, the security guards would just point to the "naughty table" as we called it and told us to check in the bottles. Honestly, we could have easily by-passed this table without anyone knowing as it was around the corner and no one checked to actually make sure we went there. But we did check in each and every bottle we purchased. They just took down our cabin number, wrote down our last name, and wrote a description of the item and then tagged the bottle(s).

 

Once back on the ship, we made our way to the pool deck for sail away. We finally checked out the solarium and t-pool. We actually ran into quite a few people that we had met earlier on the ship and it was fun to catch up with them! We checked out the bubble jets in the pool - it was quite a bit warmer than I thought it would be! We attempted sitting around the pool but, honestly, we just did not like it in there. We preferred the fresh air and being outside. So we decided to head up on deck so I could take some pictures of Antigua as we sailed away.

 

That day, there was a Royal Caribbean ship in port, too. After all-aboard time, the two ships started sounding their horns at each other. It was a who-can-blow-their-horn-the-loudest-and-longest contest. As it was my first experience with something like this, I enjoyed it. Plus, it was the first time that I had actually heard the ship's horn. The passengers on the other boat were lining up on their top deck and our passengers did likewise. It was fun waving to them as we sailed away from the pier.

 

 

Some views of Antigua at sail away:

 

 

 

 

 

After sail away, it was our usual evening routine of shower, nap, and updating our blog. We met four others in Cellar Masters and were seated almost immediately. Dinner was another three-hour affair as we just had so much fun chatting with everyone! We walked around the ship a bit after dinner and then just headed back to our room. I could actually feel a migraine coming on so I wanted to get to sleep to head it off - thankfully, it worked!

[lorilea]

I'm really enjoying your review. I just booked Calabaza for our 11/30/13 cruise. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[TruRed76]

We were both really excited for our day in St. Maarten. We did not have any excursions planned but we had many, many things that we wanted to see. Our original plan was to head to Marigot first thing in the morning, then to Mullet Bay and possibly Maho Beach, and finally to Phillipsburg in the afternoon. The ship was in port from 8:00-6:00 so we thought we would have plenty of time to try do fit all these things in. I had read that the traffic could get really bad in the afternoon; I had also read that the drivers could get crazy so we opted to take cabs everywhere that day instead of renting a car. You may have noticed that I said original plan...things did not go exactly as planned that day! One thing that I have yet to mention - there were four ships total in port that day. Us, two Royal Caribbean ships, and a Carnival ship - around 12,000 people in total.

 

Well, the day started off well. We had our breakfast, headed off the ship, and easily found the taxi stand. We let them know that we want to go to Marigot and they put us in a taxi with six other people. The ride cost $8 per person. We piled into the taxi and off we went! As we drove through the Dutch side of the island, I thought that it reminded me a little of the Florida tourist towns - think Destin. There was shopping, strip malls, people everywhere, and lots of traffic. And I mean lots of traffic!! It took us approximately 45 minutes to get to Marigot. According to Google maps, it is 10.8km or 6.7 miles from Phillipsburg to Marigot. There were times that the traffic was so bad that we were at a dead stop for several minutes. The people we were with in the taxi were not the most pleasant folk either - they complained about everything! How much traffic there was, how long it was taking, how dry the island was, how there were cacti growing and it was not a lush rainforest, and on and on and on (they must have been from one of the other ships - just kidding!). It just made the trip that much longer.

 

We finally reached Marigot. We had read that it looked like a quaint French Village and was more cultural than the Dutch side. Well, I am not quite sure we were in Marigot then. It looked nothing like we were imagining it. We did find Serafina's - a bakery we had read so much about. Honestly, not impressed. After wandering around for 30 minutes or so, we decided that we had enough and decided to head back to Phillipsburg. We opted not to go to Mullet Bay/Maho beach as the traffic was already bad - we wanted to get back to as close to the ship as possible. We found a taxi stand, hopped in, and spent another 30 minutes in traffic getting back to the downtown area. We planned to walk around the boardwalk area and grab a few beach chairs on the main beach there.

 

Once in downtown Phillipsburg, you could really feel the impact of 12,000 extra people on the island. You could hardly take a step without bumping into anyone, people were shoving fliers and coupons in your hand at every corner, and the stores were packed. We made it to the beach area. Once you got near the beach, you had many people coming up to you trying to sell the beach chairs for their bar/restaurant. The beach chairs were crowded together - almost closer than they were on the cruise ship! The beach itself didn't look that great - the water looked pretty rough and there was big drop-off pretty quick off the beach. Hubby and I decided it was not worth it and took the water taxi back to the boat.

 

We had the idea that we could find someone selling the private excursions right when you get off the boat. We thought maybe we could do a catamaran tour or something on the water. However, once we got back to that area, there was no one there. There was one really, really loooong line to take the water taxi from the cruise ship to downtown Phillipsburg, though. Did I say long?

 

We did stop to take a quick pic to prove we were in St. Maarten and grabbed a t-shirt for my dad (who wanted one from every island!). So we left the boat at 9am and were back on at noon having spent $50 in cab and water taxi fare to go nowhere. To say I was bummed was putting it mildly. I was downright cranky for a little bit. But once on the ship, we got our choice of loungers - even got ones with a small table in between. We were able to sit in the shade with a breeze so we weren't hot. We were able to eat our "free" food and have drinks brought to us. I calmed down fairly quickly and finally tried one of those famous hamburgers I had read so much about. Now, I might make some enemies here - I did not really like the hamburgers. They tasted like just a well-done burger - not juicy, no special seasoning. I guess the toppings is what makes them taste well (I didn't get any toppings).

 

So hubby and I spent SIX hours sitting out on the pool deck that day. It was very relaxing. Hubby even competed in the putting contest and came in second place - he won a medal :) I had a few ice cream cones and finished my book. One of the couples that we had been eating dinner with showed up and crashed in the beach chairs next to us. When Zumba began that afternoon, the two guys actually got up and participated!

 

Zumba was actually fun to watch. There was one lady in a power chair who I saw join in quite frequently as well as several guys who were regulars. The music was upbeat and it gave me more people watching to do! My favorite - watching the people in the pool who pretended that they were not actually joining in the class but performed all the moves with the instructor. Loved them!

 

So after what turned into a relaxing afternoon and a good day, we headed back to our stateroom to get ready for dinner. Tonight was the second formal night. We were not planning on going as (again) we did not bring a tie or jacket for my husband, but our dinner companions insisted that he would be fine and talked us into going. We joined up with everyone in Cellar Masters again. Dh was wearing a long-sleeve button down shirt and khaki pants. No one said a word to him. Once we were seated, he looked like most every guy in the MDR who had taken off their jacket to eat dinner. We were a little apprehensive, especially after all we that we read on here, but it turned out ok and we had a very good dinner.

 

The lesson I learned today and that I will pass on to anyone reading: when there is going to be more than two ships in port, I will be booking an excursion. Preferably a private tour which limits the amount of guests. And preferably one that does not involve driving! Seriously, though, I believe we would have done better in St. Maarten if we had an excursion planned. It turned out to be a great day in the end - just not exactly how we planned it. But there is another lesson here, too. The best plans can go wrong quickly. As someone said earlier, treat it like an adventure, go with it, and you may have an even better time than you though you were going to have!

 

A few pictures from the day.

 

Marigot:

 

 

Sail away as seen from our window:

 

 

And one of two towel animals that we had - a lobster!

 

[TruRed76]

I'm really enjoying your review. I just booked Calabaza for our 11/30/13 cruise. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

You will love Calabaza! One thing I don't know if I mentioned, there were several people who were quite sea sick on the ride back to the ship. I felt very sorry for them as the ride was so choppy; they must have felt horrible (and here I was having so much fun). Wear a patch, use bands, or take meds before you go if you are prone to sea sickness!! I would hate for such a memorable day to turn sour because you are not feeling well.

[Svenster]

Ah, I remember the old days, pre 9/11. We used to carry back on the plane 6 liters of liquor in the cardboard case. I am looking forward to reading how you got the rum home. I am a rum fan too.

 

Great review too, with useful suggestions. Last time we were docked in St. Martin we were next to the Oasis of the Seas. Way too many people to navigate around. They were lined up for an hour to get back on.

[TruRed76]

Ah, I remember the old days, pre 9/11. We used to carry back on the plane 6 liters of liquor in the cardboard case. I am looking forward to reading how you got the rum home. I am a rum fan too.

 

Great review too, with useful suggestions. Last time we were docked in St. Martin we were next to the Oasis of the Seas. Way too many people to navigate around. They were lined up for an hour to get back on.

 

I hope to get the review done tonight - including how to get 10 bottles of rum home!!! And I can imagine that line - the line for the water taxi was horrendous!

[TruRed76]

The last day of our cruise had arrived :( We had one final port of call and one which we had been looking forward to all week - St. Thomas. After reading the ports of call boards, we decided that we wanted to head over to St. John's. My husband and I both enjoy national parks and the more unspoiled areas so St. John's sounded perfect. We read about the two ways to get there - ship's excursion or taxi/Red Hook ferry. Normally, we would just take the public transportation as we would enjoy seeing some of the island and talking to the locals; however, we decided to go with the ship's excursion. There were two reasons we decided to go with the ferry:

 

1. By taking the ship's excursion, we did not have to meet the group until 9:30. If we took a cab/Red Hook, I read that we would want to be off the ship as close to 8:00 as possible to catch the first ferry to maximize our time on the island. We thought that we would be spending a long, busy day in St. Maarten the previous day so sleeping in on our last day sounded nice.

 

2. I just like being on the water! I would take a longer ferry ride over a cab ride any day!! I LOVE it when the water is choppy because that means a fun ride for me :)

 

Anyway, we got off the ship around 9:00am and walked around the port shopping area for a little bit before heading to the meeting place for the ship's excursion. Once we met the ship's excursion, we were given different colored wrist bands dependent upon the excursion we signed up for. There were actually four excursions that would take the ferry to St. John. We walked down the pier to meet the ferry. Captain Jack was our captain. There was actually another group on the ferry from the Marriott. There was an outside upper deck, an outside deck that wrapped around the ferry, and an inside sitting area. We found seats on the outside lower part and settled in for our ride.

 

On the way to St. John's, Captain Jack kept up a narrative about the different islands, houses, and coves that we were passing. I found him to be entertaining, especially since he seemed to really enjoy what he did and you could tell that he just loved the area and loved talking about it! I also enjoyed learning some of the history associated with the islands - for example, we saw where Christopher Columbus ran aground, wrecking one of his ships. He spent the winter holidays in a near-by cove fixing the ship, hence the name Christmas Cove.

 

Where Columbus ran aground:

 

 

 

 

We reached St. John's in approximately 45 minutes. I do believe that there were beverages for purchase if needed; I did not find the ride to be choppy at all. The Marriott group was let off the boat first as there were taxis waiting to take them to Trunk Bay. Then the Celebrity excursions that were going ashore now were let off the boat. The guide immediately asked if there was anyone in the excursion group who wanted to skip this part of the tour and head straight to the beach. Hubby and I raised our hands and we joined one of the taxis.

 

The taxis on St. John's are big open-air extended jeeps. On our way to Trunk Bay, the driver stopped at two scenic overlooks to tell us a little history of the island and to let us take pictures - no one got out of the taxi, we just took pictures from our seats.

 

One of our stops, the bay where the ferry comes in to dock (ummm...why don't I live here?!):

 

 

After a 10-15 minute ride, we made it to Trunk Bay. The taxi ride was $6 per person. As Trunk Bay is part of a National Park, there is a $4 per person admission. We paid our fee and made our way to the beach. The best way I can describe St. John's is that it reminds me of a National Park with forests that you would see in the mainland US. There is such a natural beauty to the interior of the island. I would love to hike the many, many trails that we saw. We just did not have time for it that day - plus I was told that we would need bug repellant, which we did not have.

 

We walked from the parking lot towards the beach:

 

 

Then you stop out of the shelter of the trees and see this:

 

 

Simply breathtaking!!! I just could not get over the sheer beauty of this place. You will see from the many pictures I post how much I just fell in love with this little slice of heaven.

[TruRed76]

There were small beach chairs to rent - no loungers. There were also no umbrellas to rent but there was plenty of shade to be found. The entire beach is bordered by a forest so it was easy to find shade in the trees. Most people just spread out their beach towels on the sand and went straight for the water. The sand was very soft, no shells, and no rocks. The water was calm - practically no waves. I did not feel any current or undertow that day either. The water was also pretty shallow for quite a ways out - no huge dips or drop offs. And the water was clear! The Captain said the water is clear to at least 40 feet - and I believe him.

 

Showing the clarity of the water:

 

 

Trunk Bay is known for its snorkeling. There is actually signs underwater that provide information about some of the fish and coral that you see in the water. All the snorkeling is found off a little cay that is approximately 20 yards off the beach. There were two lifeguards on duty. When more people began hitting the water, one of the lifeguards went out on a paddleboard and sat just off the cay. He was actually very nice - offering us defogger for our masks and even offering to let my husband rest on the paddleboard as he looked like he needed it!

 

There was snorkeling gear available for rent - $8 for mask, snorkel, and life vest. I had my own mask and snorkel so I headed out immediately. Wow!! The snorkeling was as good as I had read! There were many, many fish; coral; and other marine life to be found.

 

 

 

[TruRed76]

More pictures of the snorkeling:

 

 

In this picture, you can see the corner of one of the informational plaques underwater:

 

 

 

And, yes, I even saw one of these!!! Normally, I would be running out of the water for the safety of the sand but the Caribbean sun must do something to me because I actually ran INTO the water to get close to the darn thing so I could snap a picture. Nuts, I tell you!

 

[TruRed76]

The cay where the snorkeling was found:

 

 

Here you can get an idea of how far off the beach it is located:

 

 

Views of the beach from the water. You can see all the trees that border it:

 

 

Looking down the beach:

 

 

 

Our Celebrity towels spread out on the beach - you can see the plenty of shade available:

 

[TruRed76]

Alright, I need to back up a little. The ship's excursion left the ship area promptly at 9:30. By the time we had all walked to the ferry and boarded, it was around 9:45. I would guess that we docked at St. John's a little after 10:30. By the time we took the taxi to Trunk Bay and paid our admission, we were standing with the sand between our toes at exactly 10:55. Captain Jack said the ferry back would leave promptly at 3:15 and he recommended that we leave Trunk Bay by 2:30 to give us plenty of time to make it back to the dock.

 

I did some snorkeling and was so amazed by what I saw that I convinced hubby to come out in the water with me. He rented the mask, snorkel, and vest and again just used the mask, not the snorkel. He was able to swim out pretty far with me - the water was that calm that even a non-swimmer was comfortable enough to venture away from the shore. He did not seem quite as impressed as me and tired more quickly as he was holding his breath versus using his snorkel, so he headed back to shore before me. I probably stayed out there an hour and a half and felt that I missed so much!

 

But I was getting hungry. There was a little snack shack available so I headed in, we dried off, and went to get some lunch. The line for food was pretty long and it moved a little slow. There were grilled items available as well as fries, bagged snacks, ice cream, drinks, beer, and frozen drinks. Prices were so-so. I believe we got a hot dog, hamburger, two fries, two cokes, and two beers for $30. There were picnic tables spread out among the trees.

 

After lunch, we headed back to the beach for a short swim. We then decided that we wanted to check out the St. John's area a little bit so we packed up our stuff and went to find a taxi. There are showers, restrooms, and freshwater faucets available. We left the beach a little after 2:00pm. Taxis were plentiful, many sitting and waiting in the parking lot. We were directed to one and then we sat...and sat...and sat. We probably sat there for 10 minutes. I was figuring that they did not want to go back with just two people and wanted to wait to fill it up. I was getting a little frustrated as I really wanted to check out the dock area of St. John's. I think one of the drivers took pity on me as he could see I kept looking around for someone and offered to take us back immediately. Price was the same going back as it was going to Trunk Bay. We got dropped off around 2:30 so we had a little time to explore.

 

There were some great looking bars and restaurants as well as very cute, very neat little shopping area called Mongoose Junction. I found a great little store called "Best of Both Worlds" that offered hand-made, locally made crafts and jewelry. I wish I had more time to explore that store because that IS the type of shopping I enjoy. Some of the stuff in the store was amazing and beautiful. Many, many unique items in there as well. And the prices weren't bad! Many of the items were very affordable (less than $100).

 

After I bought my dad his t-shirt, we went to an ice cream shop/bar and ordered a couple of drinks before we headed to the ferry. We started chatting with the bartender and learned quite a bit about island life. According to him, there is a population of 4300 during the tourist season and less than half that during the off-season. It is very, very hard to be accepted onto the island and into their life as newcomer, especially if you are considered a white Continental. He said he was originally from New England, got fed up with corporate life, and moved to the island seven years ago. Because he works for a local and a native, he was more readily accepted on the island. He was fun to talk and provided a great wealth of information - he also made some great rum smoothies and topped off our drinks before we left. Plus, he actually asked me if I was over 18 and old enough to drink!!! He obviously got a big tip ;)

 

The ice cream shop/bar:

 

 

We headed back to the ferry and boarded at 3:10. It left a little late, closer to 3:20/3:25. On the way back, complimentary rum punch and other non-alcoholic drinks were provided. Captain Jack did not offer any commentary, just played Caribbean music. We stood at the front of the ferry on the way back. It was very, very relaxing standing in the sun with the breeze blowing, feeling the ferry gently ride the waves, drinking rum punch, and listening to the music. It was just one of those moments that we will remember from our vacation - nothing meaningful or spectacular but just a time when everything felt at peace.

[TruRed76]

On our way back to the ship, we dropped off the Marriott group first at their hotel - which is about a 5 minute ride from the ship. By the time we got dropped off, it was 4:25. All aboard time was 4:45. We wanted to by some rum (surprise, surprise) before we left so we high-tailed to the port shopping area, made our purchase, and boarded the boat at 4:40. Not bad, but cutting it a little too close for my comfort! There were plenty of people still milling around though, so I never felt in danger of getting left.

 

One interesting thing to note, in the morning when we looked around the shops we had to re-enter the terminal area to meet our excursion. At that time, we were asked to show ID to re-enter. In the afternoon, they just asked for our sea pass card.

 

This time we did not have to check in our rum as it was all going to be delivered to us that evening. We just went straight to our staterooms as we wanted to get everything packed before dinner. It was the one sail away that we missed :(

 

The rest of our rum was delivered by our stateroom attendant at 5:30. Now the fun part began - how the heck do we pack all this rum, how do we avoid excess baggage fees, and can we avoid checking a second bag??? Well, dh went down to Customer Relations and asked if they had a scale that we could use to weigh our luggage. They did!!! Awesome! I began packing our two carry-ons, hoping to get as much of our clothes and shoes in there as possible to save room in our checked bag for the rum (since it was obviously over the 3 oz limit - some people said that because it was sealed liquor we would not have to worry about the limit but we did not want to test that theory).

 

So to make a long story short, I somehow got everything packed in the two carry-ons except what we would need that night and the next day, our toiletries, and our rum. These would all go in the checked bag. We wrapped all the bottles in a shirt and tried to pack them in as tightly as possible to avoid jostling the bottles. Using the scale, we weighed the bag - 46 pounds! Yes!!! We tagged our luggage with the Celebrity tags, put it out in the hallway, and then headed out to do some last minute exploring/shopping before meeting friends for dinner.

 

We went to look at the photos one last time. Celebrity was not in your face with the photographers at all. We saw them as we left the ship each day in port, during the first dinner, and during the formal nights. At night, they would be set-up in out-of-the-way places to take your picture if you would like. They did not approach you and they did not keep at you to get your picture taken. Much different from the one Carnival cruise that I had been on. We ended up buying two pictures - one from formal night and one from the port that day.

 

Next, I headed to the Emporium. There was a bracelet that I had been eyeing all week and I wanted one last look at it. Somehow it ended up in my bag :) Finally, we bought a couple of things for the kids and a Christmas ornament for us. It was time to head to dinner.

 

We had a great last dinner with our new friends. It was a little subdued in the dining room that night - I think many people skipped the MDR. But the food was good and the company was even better. Dinner did not last as long as the other couple still had yet to pack. We exchanged information and said our good-byes. Hubby and I headed to the Sunset Bar one last time. We had a farewell drink, said bye to our favorite bartenders, and took one last look at the waves behind the ship. It was finally time to turn in and get ready for a busy day of travel the next day.

[TruRed76]

For some reason, at the end of the week we paid for, they made us leave the boat. So rude... :) We seriously did not want to leave!

 

Our debarkation time was 8:45 and we were to meet in Cellar Masters by 8:30. We were Green 15. We woke up at 7:00am, finished the last minute packing, and then went to the Oceanview Cafe for breakfast. It was the most crowded that I had seen it all week. They were still accepting my sea pass card for Diet Coke - thank goodness!

 

We made it to Cellar Masters in plenty of time and settled in to wait. Since we were back in a US port, our cell phone plan was back on normal rates. We checked up on some emails, and of course Facebook, as we waited. Finally Green 15 was called and we headed down one flight then off the ship. We probably got called around 9:00 so they were running behind.

 

We swiped our sea pass card one last time and then headed in line for Customs. Well, the line for Customs was long. There were two lines with two agents for each line. Two more agents opened up a little after. As I got our place in line, hubby grabbed our bags. The areas for bags were clearly marked and we had no trouble with finding our luggage. It took us maybe 20 minutes to get through the Customs line. As we got closer to the end, there was an agent with a dog. Of course, the dog decides to smell something on me and the luggage I was carrying. The agent just asked if I had any fruit or other produce. When I replied no, he just moved on.

 

When we reached the Customs agent, we handed in our declaration forms. Of course we had declared the rum. He asked us how much rum and then asked us where we purchased it. We told him Barbados, Antigua, and St. Thomas. He then told us that next time we could bring much more home - 5 liters each! Very nice - and informative- agent!

 

Our flight was not scheduled to leave until 3:10. Since you cannot check in at the airport until at least three hours before your flight, we planned on doing an independent tour prior to heading to the airport. When we got out of the terminal, there were several locations where taxis and vans were lined up. We found a guy from Happy Tours, told him our flight time and told him that we wanted to tour Old San Juan. He said it would be $25 per person, we would be dropped off at the airport at 1:00pm, and then he lead us to a van almost full of people. They loaded our luggage into the back of the van and we found two empty seats. There were still two more seats left so we waited until those seats were filled and then we were off! There was probably 16 people aboard the van.

 

Our driver was Nelson. He gave us a 45-minute narrated bus tour of downtown San Juan, the forts, and the capitol. He stopped several times so we could get out and take pictures. He then dropped us off in Old San Juan where we had two hours to explore. We were to meet back at the drop-off location at 12:30 so we could get to the airport by 1:00pm.

 

Dh and I hit Barrachina's for lunch again (this time skipping the Pina Coladas) and did some last minute souvenir shopping. I can't say it enough - we LOVE Old San Juan and can't wait to have the opportunity to go back! Everyone met the van on time and we headed to the airport. We made it there on time, hitting no traffic on the way. Nelson dropped us off at our respective terminals. We paid when we got dropped off.

 

The airport was not in the least crowded. We headed first to the agriculture inspection station, which is located as soon as you walk in the door. There was one person in front of us in line. Then we headed to the airline counter so we could check our baggage. We were the first people in line, waiting for the next available agent. We then headed to security - no one in line there! We were sitting at our gate by 1:20.

 

The flight home left on time, got in early. There were two things that immediately let us know that vacation was over - one, we landed in Chicago O'Hare to a very chilly 41 degrees and cloudy skies. And two, when we boarded the hotel shuttle to go get our car, the driver did not offer us a narrated tour as we drove!!! Boo!!! We got our car, made the three-hour trip home, and our vacation was over.

 

I plan to add a little more tomorrow night on my thoughts on the ship, Celebrity, how it compared to my previous trip, what we liked, what we would change, etc. Since I want to make sure I get it right, I will add it tomorrow when I feel more awake!

 

Any questions, please ask! I apologize for how long this review ended up being. I had no idea it would be so long or take so long when I started! I hope I helped provide at least some people with information. If not, I had fun reliving my trip :)

[sound_guy0918]

Thanks for all of the great detail. We have checked in on your review several times as we plan our excursions for the same itinerary on the Summit this December!

[blacksheep2]

I don't usually comment but ghost read-but you really covered a lot of things I had questions about-we will use many of your suggestions-thank you

[celebrityprincess]

Great review!

[drarill]

TruRed!!

Great review and amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing!:):)

[DebbieMacG]

Thanks for a great review :) did the rum make it home safe? :eek:

[Shir Hayam]

Thanks so much for this fabulous review! We are doing this exact itinerary on the Summit in December. Your great photos helped us make up our minds to be sure to go to Trunk Bay. Plus everything else you did looks absolutely yummy, too.

 

Sheila