Just back from the Summit, 12/7/2013 Southern Caribbean

[spunke]

We are on the Summit next week and really liked your pictures and review.

 

Thank you

[pattyfe]

Escargot was on the everyday side of the menu. I ordered them a couple of times. They were good but needed more garlic.:):)

 

Ron, not sure how to find you easily (I stalk you on here by name) so am posting here to tell you I am reliving the cruise thru your wonderful review and pictures! Thanks a lot!😃

 

Hi to Amy! Pattyfe Crystal Lake:)

[mangohead]

They say a picture paints a thousand words; yep those people standing over there -->

 

Ron and Amy your pictures are magnificent, just totally awesome!

 

Its like I'm there again and great review.

 

Thank you Ron & Amy

Edited January 2, 2014 by mangohead

[Ron_L]

Ron, not sure how to find you easily (I stalk you on here by name) so am posting here to tell you I am reliving the cruise thru your wonderful review and pictures! Thanks a lot!😃

 

Hi to Amy! Pattyfe Crystal Lake:)

 

Hi Patty! I posted my e-mail address in our roll call thread if that makes stalking me any easier :D

 

They say a picture paints a thousand words; yep those people standing over there -->

 

Ron and Amy your pictures are magnificent, just totally awesome!

 

Its like I'm there again and great review.

 

Thank you Ron & Amy

 

Thanks! It's been busy with the holidays but I should finish up with St. Thomas and debarkation day :( later today.

[hulamoon]

Excellent report, thank you.

[Ron_L]

OK... Let's wrap this up.

 

Our last port was St. Thomas. We've been to St. Thomas before but have always gone to St. John because we love it. This time we decided to actually see St. Thomas. We had nothing planned ahead of time so we decided on a taxi tour that took us to Charlotte Amalie for some shopping, then to Mountain Top and finally to Sapphire Beach. The cost was $25 including the return trip to the port after the beach.

 

At Charlotte Amalie they were getting ready for a Christmas festival so there were a bunch of vendors set up in a parking lot with local crafts, t-shirts and other souvenirs. There was also a small park with a gazebo decorated for Christmas and a Christmas tree.

 

PC130797 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We had about an hour to look around and I bought some hot sauce and my wife bought a larimar necklace that would double as her ornament for the Christmas tree at home and then a necklace after that.

 

From there we took a scenic drive to Mountain Top with our driver, Elvis (yes, Elvis is alive and living on St. Thomas!) showing us the sights and then having us sing along to some of his favorite songs. He was a lot of fun!

 

The view at Mountain Top is spectacular.

 

PC130818 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

There is also a huge gift shop there and a bar that serves their world famous banana daiquiris. Of course we had to try one.

 

PC130821 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC130823 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The daiquiri is very good, but not cheap!

 

After Mountain Top we started back down towards Sapphire Beach, stopping along the way at another spot overlooking the harbor.

 

PC130841 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The Summit is docked at Havensight on the left side and in the distance just right of center you can see a HAL ship docked at Crown Bay.

 

Not too long after this stop we were all startled by a very loud bang. Elvis pulled over and it turned out that a tire had blown on the taxi. The taxis in St Thomas are 1 ton pick up trucks fitted with bench seating where the bed would be and they have dual rear wheels and the inside tire on the driver side had blown. We went slowly down hill until we reached Sapphire Beach. Elvis dropped us off and went to get a new tire.

 

Sapphire Beach is beautiful with a long stretch of sand ringing a large bay. There is a shop there that rents chairs ($7.50 each) and also has snorkeling equipment for rent and there are two restaurants who have runners taking orders and delivering food and drinks. We rented a chair and had it set up in a spot with some shade and ordered some beers and lunch from the runner for the Banana Cabana. My wife had a chicken sandwich and I had a fish sandwich. Both came with chips and horseradish pickles. The sandwiches and the pickles were very good. There were sea ducks all along the beach and they watched us eat. It reminded me of our dog back home.

 

PC130844 by rclewen, on Flickr

[Ron_L]

There was a breeze that day and the bay was a little choppy. We only had a couple of hours before Elvis was to come back for us so I decided not to snorkel, but there were several folks out there. The water was beautiful and we enjoyed relaxing and looking out over the bay.

 

PC130846 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC130848 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC130850 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

When it was time to meet Elvis we headed to the parking lot and another taxi driver was ther looking for Elvis' passengers. Apparently after Elvis left us to get his tire fixed he was involved in a traffic accident! He was fine but he sent another driver to get us.

 

Once back at the ship we decided to clean up and head to the sunset bar for a drink and some snacks from the buffet. We grabbed a table and enjoyed a beautiful sail away from St. Thomas and we had a great sunset!

 

PC130880 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

After the sunset we went back to the cabin and sadly packed our stuff and then headed to dinner. After dinner we changed our clothes and packed the last few things and put our bags outside of our cabin door. Then we went to the Martini Bar for one last martini. Well, maybe two.

 

We then said good bye to Newman and went back to the cabin to sleep.

 

PC130904 by rclewen, on Flickr

Edited January 3, 2014 by Ron_L

[Ron_L]

Saturday morning came all to early. We decided to take the Celebrity excursion to the Bacardi distillery since it included transportation to the airport for us and out bags. We met in the MDR at 7:15 and had Zone 3 tags. Around 8:00 we heard the announcement that debarkation was beginning and they called zones 1 - 5. We slowly made our way to the gangway and off of the ship. After claiming our bags we met some of our roll call friends who were taking the same tour and had a porter help us with the bags and through customs. Our bags were loaded in the back of a truck and we boarded a bus to Bacardi.

 

PC140906 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We arrived at the Bacardi distillery a little before 9:00 and the tours didn't start until 9 so we waited in the outdoor reception area. The tour includes two drink tickets and at 9:00 the bar opened and almost everyone ordered drinks. Shortly after that they called us to the tram for the tour and we were told that we couldn't bring our drinks. It would have been nice if the bartenders had mentioned that before serving us.

 

The tour took about an hour. we sent to a building a short ride away from the reception center and a tour guide gave us some orientation along the way. At the building we were taken to a room that showed the history of Bacardi through murals on the walls. Another tour guide explained the murals and the history.

 

PC140912 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC140911 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

From there we were taken into a theater for a short video that included more details on Bacardi and their history. No pictures were allowed for the rest of the tour. After the video we went into a room that was a replica of the first Bacardi distillery and then to a room with some hands-on exhibits including informative videos and rooms where you could smell rum in the various states in the distillation process. Finally we went into a simulated bar where we learned the history of the Cuba Libre and the Daiquiri and how to make these drinks. After that we took the tram back to the reception center and enjoyed a drink from the bar and browsed in the git shop.

 

After that we boarded the shuttle and were taken to the airport. We arrived around noon and were taken to an area where all of our bags were laid out for us to reclaim them. From there we went through the agriculture scanner (no wait) and then to check in for our flight. We were on United and there was no wait at their counter but some of the airline counters had significant lines.

 

We grabbed some lunch at a restaurant before the security checkpoint and then made our way to our gate. Along the way I received a text message that our flight would be delayed by about an hour because the incoming aircraft left Chicago late due to snow. We found a bar and had one last mojito and then waited for the plane. The flight home was smooth besides the delay and we were back in chilly Chicago by about 8:30pm and home by 10:30pm.

 

All things considered, it was a great trip! We had a couple of extra days in San Juan so it was almost like taking two vacations. We enjoyed Celebrity and the Summit and would consider another Celebrity cruise in the future. There were a lot of positives, a couple of so-so things but there weren't any negatives.

 

If there are any other questions please post them here.

 

All of our pictures are here if you are interested in looking at them.

[rdt10]

Ron, we will be in St Thomas in a few days on the Summit and want to do an island tour like you did with Elvis. Did you pre-book the taxi tour or just find him at the port? I've read great things about Sapphire beach. Did you request Sapphire beach or did Elvis? Did you pay at the beginning or end? Great review and pictures.

 

Thanks for sharing your trip. Rick

Edited January 4, 2014 by rdt10

[Casanova02]

Ron

 

It is a SUPER GOOD review....

 

I'll keep it for my next cruise in december....

 

Maybe on a next cruise, we could share the same safe....;)

[katrocity1]

Ron - what were your fav drinks at the Martini Bar? Did you have a drink package?

[Ron_L]

Ron

 

It is a SUPER GOOD review....

 

I'll keep it for my next cruise in december....

 

Maybe on a next cruise, we could share the same safe....;)

 

Thanks! Maybe next time you'll be first and leave me some cash :D

 

Ron - what were your fav drinks at the Martini Bar? Did you have a drink package?

 

My favorite was the Blue Martini and the Fresca Martini. I don't like drinks that are too sweet so those worked out best for me. My wife loved the Tropitini, the French Martini and the Chocolate Martini.

 

We had the Classic package as part of the 1... 2...3... promo but upgraded it to the premium package. It was nice not having to worry about the price of the drinks and I know that we tried things that we may not have if we were paying for them.

[slidergirl]

Thank you for such a nice review!

I'm looking at the Summit for a cruise next November. But, it'll be a last minute deal because it will be part of a week on Puerto Rico and Vieques that can't be approved until much, much closer to the time I want to go…

 

Since you frequented the Martini Bar a bit, could you tell me what vodka brands they had that were Premium brands? I saw Stoli, Absolut, I think Effen and Kettel One in your photos. I wouldn't call them "premium." Any Zyr, Russian Standard Platinum, Ultimat, things along those lines? I like my vodka on the rocks or straight up if the bottle is kept in the freezer… Chopin will do in a pinch, but otherwise… On Princess, I found Ultimat and I had a very nice time each night sipping a shot or two of it (regular and black cherry) at the bar before heading back to the cabin.

[Ron_L]

Ron, we will be in St Thomas in a few days on the Summit and want to do an island tour like you did with Elvis. Did you pre-book the taxi tour or just find him at the port? I've read great things about Sapphire beach. Did you request Sapphire beach or did Elvis? Did you pay at the beginning or end? Great review and pictures.

 

Thanks for sharing your trip. Rick

 

Hi Rick! I'm jealous considering the high in Chicago on Monday is going to be -10 :D Enjoy St. Thomas.

 

We did not pre-book. We were heading toward the tram up to Paradise point since we didn't have anything planned and as we were leaving the port area we overheard a guy there talking about the taxi tours and Elvis was the next up. I had his business card so let me look for it this morning and I'll let you know in this thread. His cars said Sonny Liston tours, so you could probably contact them and request Elvis as well.

 

I took a picture of his name plate in the taxi because of his name, so here is that info...

 

PC130790 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We requested Sapphire and it worked out that the rest of the folks in on the tour (10 people) wanted to go to Sapphire as well. He would have dropped folks off at other beaches if requested.

 

Some folks paid in advance, others paid at the end. Since Elvis wasn't able to come back for us we had to trust that the other driver actually gave him the money.

[Ron_L]

Thank you for such a nice review!

I'm looking at the Summit for a cruise next November. But, it'll be a last minute deal because it will be part of a week on Puerto Rico and Vieques that can't be approved until much, much closer to the time I want to go…

 

Since you frequented the Martini Bar a bit, could you tell me what vodka brands they had that were Premium brands? I saw Stoli, Absolut, I think Effen and Kettel One in your photos. I wouldn't call them "premium." Any Zyr, Russian Standard Platinum, Ultimat, things along those lines? I like my vodka on the rocks or straight up if the bottle is kept in the freezer… Chopin will do in a pinch, but otherwise… On Princess, I found Ultimat and I had a very nice time each night sipping a shot or two of it (regular and black cherry) at the bar before heading back to the cabin.

 

Honestly, I didn't pay much attention :o I Googled those brands and the Russian Standard and Ultimat bottles don't look familiar, but it's possible that they had Zyr, but I can't say for sure. If they have those anywhere on the ship the guys will go and get it for you if you ask, so maybe you can find a list either here or on the Celebrity web site that shows the brands that they carry.

[cyntil8ing]

Since you frequented the Martini Bar a bit, could you tell me what vodka brands they had that were Premium brands? I saw Stoli, Absolut, I think Effen and Kettel One in your photos. I wouldn't call them "premium." Any Zyr, Russian Standard Platinum, Ultimat, things along those lines? I like my vodka on the rocks or straight up if the bottle is kept in the freezer… Chopin will do in a pinch, but otherwise… On Princess, I found Ultimat and I had a very nice time each night sipping a shot or two of it (regular and black cherry) at the bar before heading back to the cabin.

 

One of our roll call friends was a self-described vodka snob. I remember him saying that there were something like 140 brands on board and his goal was to try them all!

[Ron_L]

One of our roll call friends was a self-described vodka snob. I remember him saying that there were something like 140 brands on board and his goal was to try them all!

 

It's good to have goals in life :D

[awicky]

Awesome! Love your review & pics. Now I really can't wait for our April Summit cruise w/PR stay after cruise. Thx for sharing ... 105 days to go

[slidergirl]

One of our roll call friends was a self-described vodka snob. I remember him saying that there were something like 140 brands on board and his goal was to try them all!

 

Sounds like it has potential. BUT, if count all those flavors of Absolut,Stoli,Grey Goose, etc. as singles, it kind of inflates the actual brand count ;)

 

Your vodka snob friend needs to make a trip to Las Vegas and visit Red Square at the Mandalay Bay hotel. Vodka nirvana. I try to get there at least once a year. Great barmen, great vodka choices. I'll stay at the Mandalay Bay so I don't have to worry about how to get back to my room :D I want to go there on my birthday and treat myself to time in the ice room with the really high-end stuff, wearing the sable coats they provide!!!

[rdt10]

Hi Rick! I'm jealous considering the high in Chicago on Monday is going to be -10 :D Enjoy St. Thomas.

 

We did not pre-book. We were heading toward the tram up to Paradise point since we didn't have anything planned and as we were leaving the port area we overheard a guy there talking about the taxi tours and Elvis was the next up. I had his business card so let me look for it this morning and I'll let you know in this thread. His cars said Sonny Liston tours, so you could probably contact them and request Elvis as well.

 

I took a picture of his name plate in the taxi because of his name, so here is that info...

 

PC130790 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We requested Sapphire and it worked out that the rest of the folks in on the tour (10 people) wanted to go to Sapphire as well. He would have dropped folks off at other beaches if requested.

 

Some folks paid in advance, others paid at the end. Since Elvis wasn't able to come back for us we had to trust that the other driver actually gave him the money.

 

Thanks for the info Ron. I looked up Sonny Liston tours and found the tour you were on, except they want $40 pp if booked in advance. I assume they discounted a little to fill up the taxi on the day of. I was told today that my wife has the day scheduled for shopping so I don't know if we'll get to the beach. I hope so. The beach will be much cheaper for me. Nice to know we can get something at the port if we decide to. Our son and DIL are traveling with us and this tour sounds exactly like what they want to do for the day.

 

We live in Topeka, Kansas and have the same cold weather coming our way. We fly on Thursday for a couple days in San Juan, leaving on the Summit on Saturday. I'm ready for warm weather. Rick

[Ron_L]

Thanks for the info Ron. I looked up Sonny Liston tours and found the tour you were on, except they want $40 pp if booked in advance. I assume they discounted a little to fill up the taxi on the day of. I was told today that my wife has the day scheduled for shopping so I don't know if we'll get to the beach. I hope so. The beach will be much cheaper for me. Nice to know we can get something at the port if we decide to. Our son and DIL are traveling with us and this tour sounds exactly like what they want to do for the day.

 

We live in Topeka, Kansas and have the same cold weather coming our way. We fly on Thursday for a couple days in San Juan, leaving on the Summit on Saturday. I'm ready for warm weather. Rick

 

I didn't find Elvis' card in the place where I expected it but I'll look more just in case. If your son and daughter in law want to do a tour like this there are plenty of taxis at the exits from the port area offering them. Make sure that they include return transportation from the beach. Friends of ours did a similar tour that dropped them off at the beach but they had to pay an extra $10 per person for the trip back to the port.

 

Have a great trip! If you can while in San Juan check out the Ropa Vieja Grill on Ashford not too far from the Hilton Condado Plaza. The food was the best we had for the entire trip and the prices were very reasonable.

[Ron_L]

Awesome! Love your review & pics. Now I really can't wait for our April Summit cruise w/PR stay after cruise. Thx for sharing ... 105 days to go

 

Have a great trip! If you can while in San Juan check out the Ropa Vieja Grill on Ashford not too far from the Hilton Condado Plaza. The food was the best we had for the entire trip and the prices were very reasonable.

[Kathie44]

Glad to know the Summit is still great. I've sailed her 5 times in 3 different parts of the world, Alaska, Mediterranean and Caribbean (3)and always had a super cruise.

In 3 weeks I'm leaving for Ft. Laud to sail a newer ship for the first time--Silhouette. I expect the same great service, food and friendly atmosphere that I've always had with Celebrity.

[richstowe]

Fantastic review. Our Summit highlight was the Roseau Valley Treasures tour with Bumpling Tours.

The Champagne dive was incredible.

It's good to have goals in life :D

Spit up my coffee.:D

[cavdad78]

Glad to know the Summit is still great. I've sailed her 5 times in 3 different parts of the world, Alaska, Mediterranean and Caribbean (3)and always had a super cruise.

In 3 weeks I'm leaving for Ft. Laud to sail a newer ship for the first time--Silhouette. I expect the same great service, food and friendly atmosphere that I've always had with Celebrity.

 

We sailed the Silhoutte last April, western Caribbean, absolutely beautiful. The ship, the people, everything was top notch. We loved and frequented the Sunset Bar. Enjoy.

Edited January 5, 2014 by cavdad78