Summit Photo Review - June 29, 2014 to Bermuda in Aqua Class

[vivi9909]

Very informative and enjoyable review with lot of beautiful picutures! Thank you to share. At the end of August, we will occupy cabin 1141 and are very anxious to enjoy our aft balcony and the Aqua privileges, as you did!

 

In one of your posts you mentioned:

We decided to get up rather early on Sunday so we would have time to pack and eat breakfast before the car came to pick us up at the hotel. Originally we had scheduled the car to arrive at 10:30 am, but as the cruise approached we all became impatient and moved it up to 10 am. The driver apparently was even more excited to drive us to the cruise than we were to get there because he was there around 9:40 am!

 

We will be staying in Manhattan during 4 days before the cruise but don't know yet how we will transfer from the hotel (the Yotel at Times Square) to the ship. Could you please give more details about the "car" that you used? Was it a cab or a private car? Which company and how much did it cost? If you already mentioned and I missed it, I'm sorry and apologize in advance.

 

Thanks and I look for the end of your review.

Edited July 12, 2014 by vivi9909

[prim8keeper]

 

We will be staying in Manhattan during 4 days before the cruise but don't know yet how we will transfer from the hotel (the Yotel at Times Square) to the ship. Could you please give more details about the "car" that you used? Was it a cab or a private car? Which company and how much did it cost? If you already mentioned and I missed it, I'm sorry and apologize in advance.

 

Thanks and I look for the end of your review.

 

Thank you! I did not mention the car service. From what I have been told you do not want to take a taxi from NY to NJ or NJ to NY. Apparently when they go over the state line their fares tend to double. We used Dial 7 which we have used several times before on previous visits to NYC. The estimate was $75 for us + tips and any tolls. You can actually get there for less if you can take a town car but with the four of us and all our luggage we needed a bigger vehicle. When all was said and done it was around $50 a couple which I didn't think was bad. Dial 7 will give you an estimate when you book them. Sorry I can't give you a more exact estimate in terms of tolls. I already deleted my receipts since our credit card statement changed.

[prim8keeper]

So lets pick up where we left off. We made our way to St Peter's which was established in 1612. It is the oldest Anglican Church outside the British Isles, and the oldest Protestant church in continuous use in the New World. It is also very beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[prim8keeper]

More photos of St. Peter's Church from outside.

 

 

 

 

So one interesting thing we found out about the graves in Bermuda is that they dig the hole down about 14 feet. Then they will place people on top of one another in the same family grave. You are required to use a wooden casket that will break down over time. It is done this way because space on the island is so limited. I'm not sure if it was done that way when this cemetery was in use, but looking back at the photos made me think about Ralph telling us this.

 

 

 

[prim8keeper]

By the time we finished up at St. Peter's Church it was around noon. The next ferry leaving St. George's for Hamilton wasn't until 1 pm. It was starting to get really hot by now so we decided that instead of waiting around for the ferry we would take the bus into Hamilton to look around. This seemed like a good idea since we skipped Harbour nights and hadn't really seen much of the city. It was easy to find the bus stop since it was marked with a pink pole. The pink poles indicate that the bus is heading towards Hamilton and the blue poles indicate that the bus is heading away from Hamilton. That said if you have any questions just politely ask the bus driver. They were all very helpful.

 

It was a nice quiet ride on the bus into Hamilton. I think it took around 30 minutes or so. Honestly I lost track of time and was enjoying being in the air conditioning. This bus also passes the zoo, caves, Swizzle Inn etc. so you could easily hop off and on and do them all in one, very busy day. I honestly forget what bus number it was, but we both think it was the 10.

 

Once in Hamilton our first top was City Hall & Arts Centre. This was recommended to us the day before by Ralph. Inside there are two art gallery's that are free to the public.

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions just look for this guy.

 

 

Inside the building is three stories. The actual city services are on the first floor along with a theater. Then the second and third floors are were the two galleries are located.

 

 

[prim8keeper]

These are two photos I took inside of the art galleries. There was a surprising amount of art located in each gallery. I believe what they exhibit changes from time to time and its all local artist or artist who lived in Bermuda at one point.

 

 

 

After we finished up at City Hall & Arts Centre we walked towards the Anglican Cathedral. Both of these are located on Church Street which is two streets back from Front Street. Ralph told us that most tourist shop on Front Street and the locals shop one street back on Reid Street.

 

 

 

[CarpeDiem2]

Tom,

This is a wonderful review of the Summit and Bermuda. I've cruised twice to Bermuda and taken a land vacation, as well. It's a beautiful island! This brings back such good memories. You have a great eye. Your photos are beautiful! Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Linda

[prim8keeper]

For anyone who is interested this review now contains 171 photos and I had to sign up for another photobucket account to get more free bandwidth! Crazy! I did not expect this review to be this long when I started so hopefully everyone is still enjoying it. My favorite photos from day 3 in Bermuda are still to come.

 

These are all photos from inside the Anglican Cathedral.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rina155]

I am still enjoying your review and fantastic photos! Thank you

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[prim8keeper]

More photos from inside the Anglican Cathedral. It reminded me of cathedrals I had seen in Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we finished up at the Cathedral we made our way down Church Street towards Parliament Street. This is where I took this photo of the new House of Assembly. This was built when they moved the government from St. George's to Hamilton.

 

 

From there we walked down both Reid and Front Street visiting various shops. We are not big shoppers when we travel and if I am going to shop I generally want something that are specific to the island. So we decided we would get all our souvenirs at the Dockyard craft's market. By now it was almost 2 pm and we had not eaten for the day so we decided to grab the ferry back to the Dockyard. We lucked out at there was a ferry leaving for the Dockyard right as we walked up. The ferry from Hamilton to the Dockyard is very short. They said it takes 20 minutes, but it seemed more like 15. We used our time on the ferry to plan out what we would like to do next time we came to Bermuda based on our explorations and recommendations from Ralph. Once back at the Dockyard we went back on board the Summit to grab some lunch at the buffet. We made it just in time!

[Newsbuff16]

Loving your review and your gorgeous photos!

I know that you mentioned it before but can you please tell us the model camera you used.

[prim8keeper]

Loving your review and your gorgeous photos!

I know that you mentioned it before but can you please tell us the model camera you used.

 

Yep! I actually had three cameras with me but the most of my photos were taken with a Canon PowerShot SX510. A very small number were taken with just my iPhone 5 and a larger number were taken with my old Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX10 (discontinued). The Cyber-shot is what I take when I don't want to take my bigger camera since it fits in my pocket and is water proof. The Canon isn't that big, but its definitely too big just to carry around in your pocket. Since I have those two cameras and a GoPro I just invested in a backpack that is made to carry a few smaller cameras (or one big one), a laptop and iPad.

 

I really like the Canon and with the 30x optical zoom you can get some really good shots without having to carry around a larger camera/lens. Most of the images I took are higher quality but I lowered it for the review since I'm posting so many images.

[prim8keeper]

By the time we had eaten it was around 3 pm. Since the day was still early and we didn't have anything until Indulgence at 10 pm we decided now would be a good time to go see Horseshoe Bay. We aren't big beach people so an hour or two on the beach is plenty for us. I had been told that you should avoid going to the beach on the first day because that is when everyone goes. While I think this is probably true most of the time since the weather on Wednesday was so iffy I think most people waited until Thursday. On our way to catch the bus to Horseshoe we saw people coming back from the beach. I thought great! Its going to be empty.

 

We got to the bus stop and there was a number 7 bus waiting to take people to the beach. All the seats were taken so we had to stand, no biggie. We waited though until the bus was completely full and there was no more room. This is where common sense seems to break down. Since this is just a public bus we continued to stop and pick up people along the way. It made the bus more crowded for us/hot and I have to imagine wasn't pleasant for the locals either. What I find confusing about the whole thing is that they run special buses back from Horseshoe Bay that go straight to the Dockyard. They say "special." However, these buses leave empty from the Dockyard to head back to Horseshoe to pick up people. Now this is where I'm going to suggest something crazy - put the people going to the beach on them! Then everyone wins. Its faster for the tourist to get to the beach and the locals get their buses back. With all the people and stops it felt like it took forever to get to the beach. It definitely was longer than they said it would be. Waiting until day two in the afternoon also didn't seem to help with the crowds.

 

When we finally got to Horseshoe Bay I think 90% of the passengers got off. We walked down to the beach and holy batman were there a lot of people. I had heard about the path that takes you from Horseshoe to Warwick's Long Bay so we decided rather than spending any real time at the beach lounging we would just walk to the path. You also then pass several coves along the way. If you are looking to get away from the crowds this is where you should go.

 

If you will recall earlier in the review I said I was going to leave some photos unedited to show the true beauty that is Bermuda. As a result several of these beach photos are just the original image. With that crystal blue water, sun and pink sand you really don't need to do anything to make it perfect.

 

This first image is of Horseshoe Bay. It doesn't really show how crowded it truly was since we had already walked really far down the beach away from the crowds by the time I took it.

 

 

 

The various coves we came upon.

 

 

 

 

[prim8keeper]

 

This is a picture of what the path looks like. It was pretty easy to find.

 

 

At one of the coves the military was doing something.

 

 

If you look closely you can see the pink sand.

 

 

All of these photos were taken at the end at Warwick's Long Bay.

 

 

[RNCheryl]

What an interesting review; makes me want to see Bermuda.

 

We were on Summit about 18 months ago from San Juan to the Caribbean and had a fabulous time. Our favorite places were Cafe Al Bachio, where they knew our names and how we liked our coffee on day 2, and the Martini Bar, where we met with our Cruise Critic friends every evening before dinner.

 

Said CC friends, by now up to about 25, are cruising again in Nov 15 on the Reflection! This is an amazing serendiptiy!

 

By the way, we were BLU on the Summit, and will not do that again, price to benefit ratio based.

 

Thanks for the pictures. By the way, we are many, many years above you, but it would be great to meet you and cruise away!

[prim8keeper]

At Warwick's Long Bay we climbed up on top of some of the rocks which is how I got some of these photos from really high up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It really didn't take the long to walk the mile or mile and a half that is the trail. It was very hot though and I kind of wish we would have stopped to go into the water. Just like at Horseshoe Bay at Warwick's Long Bay you have to climb a hill to get back up to the bus stop. The only difference was at Warwick there were no private shuttles offering to take you up to the top of the hill for only a few dollars. There were also no mini buses waiting to take people back to the Dockyard for only $7 per person. There was a small bathroom and one vendor selling food and water, but it was nothing like what they have at Horseshoe. Going to Warwick you will get away from the crowds but expect less services.

 

At the top of the hill we caught one of the buses going towards Somerset but got off at the Horseshoe Bay stop. This will allow you to catch one of the special buses which will take you directly back to the Dockyard. We just asked the driver when we should get off. We made great use of our one day bus/ferry pass!

[prim8keeper]

What an interesting review; makes me want to see Bermuda.

 

We were on Summit about 18 months ago from San Juan to the Caribbean and had a fabulous time. Our favorite places were Cafe Al Bachio, where they knew our names and how we liked our coffee on day 2, and the Martini Bar, where we met with our Cruise Critic friends every evening before dinner.

 

Said CC friends, by now up to about 25, are cruising again in Nov 15 on the Reflection! This is an amazing serendiptiy!

 

By the way, we were BLU on the Summit, and will not do that again, price to benefit ratio based.

 

Thanks for the pictures. By the way, we are many, many years above you, but it would be great to meet you and cruise away!

 

Thank you! They also knew our names at Cafe al Bacio towards the end. I can't live without my coffee.

 

I would do Blu again on Summit, but I would also base it on prices and time of the year. We fell in love with the aft cabins and in the end we payed less for A1 aft than it would have cost us for a C1 aft cabin. The other thing we liked about Blu was that there were no children.

 

We have many, many friends who we now cruise with that we have met on CC and they are all many, many years older than us and its always a great time! This was our first cruise without some of them and it just wasn't the same. Still fun, but I missed their special brand of insanity. The crowd on this cruise was actually younger than most X ships we have been on so we hung out with a lot of people our own age.

[Boxerlover2]

Tom, did your tour guide mention when the best time is to visit Bermuda?

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[prim8keeper]

We made it back to the Dockyard some time after 5 pm. The bus back was much faster since it didn't stop anywhere and wasn't nearly as full as the bus we had taken to Horseshoe. Overall it was a much more enjoyable experience.

 

Once back on the ship we decided to go to dinner on the early side since we had Indulgence at 10 pm and knew we would be eating again.

 

After dinner we went and hung out at the Martini bar since Cellar's Masters was closed off while they got ready for Indulgence. As an FYI to everyone, do not plan on eating at Bistro on Five this night for dinner since it will be closed. They actually close off that entire area (Cellar Master's and Bistro on Five) for Indulgence. Our sailing was only the third time they were trying out Indulgence and it was obvious it was still a work in progress.

 

So what is Indulgence? I'm honestly not sure I still really know. LOL! It was part cabaret, part Tim Burton's take on Alice in Wonderlands tea party and part just pure insanity. At one point my DH turned to me and said, "there's a lot of crushed velvet in this room." As you walk in you are greeted by a crazy cast of characters and tray after tray of cocktails. Since this is one of the nights that they have guest entertainers all of the entertainment staff works this event. They also had a DJ playing music both old and new. At a couple different points they had various entertainers sing, which was actually really good. They also had some of the entertainers who also do the cirque type show doing weird positions on a stage and then later in a bird cage. There was also a spinning swing. I did not take my camera because I was certain they wouldn't allow photos but I really wish I would have.

 

While all of this is going on they are constantly passing around cocktails and various food. In terms of what it costs you can easily get your money's worth in cocktails. There was never an empty tray very far away and as the evening went on things got more insane, or should I say "drunk?" We both almost felt like we were little kids again that had sneaked into our parents party. Some of the cocktails were a bit weird. My favorite was one that basically tasted like a banana and chocolate milkshake. All of the food we tried was very good. They had tables of food set up and people walking around serving it off trays.

 

I've left out enough here that it will still be a surprise if you go. In terms of whether or not I think should people would go, I think if you are ok with the price its worth checking out. Like I said you easily get your money's worth in terms of the drinks and food. Just make sure you go hungry. Had we known how much food there was actually going to be I probably would have just skipped dinner.

 

The event runs for about two hours, however we decided to leave after about an hour and half mostly because it was getting weird and we were both really full at this point. I was also feeling the alcohol more than I wanted to considering we had a 7:30 am tour the next morning.

 

On our way out we were asked how it was by Ashley the Captain's Club hostess and one other lady. Now this is where things got very interesting! This is also where I'm going to be one of those people who repeats something I heard on a ship that is may or may not be true.

 

However, before I get to that this is the feedback we gave them in regards to Indulgence. We suggested that they make the event later, aka a modern take or play on the midnight buffet concept. We also felt they should really commit to it and make it a little more risque. I thought one of the great things about this event was that you could easily modify it so it could had a different theme on each ship. I think the potential is there ,they just need to work out the kinks and commit. We also thought they should either lower the price point or really advertise what you are getting for your money. Lots of people on the ship were talking about what Indulgence could be, but since no one had any idea, very few people seemed interested in attending. Dimitri told us the target was 150 people, but I would say maybe only around 75 were there. There were a large number of officers there watching to see how things were going.

 

After talking about all of this with Ashley I took the opportunity to just ask her a few questions about the changes X was making. At this point she flat out told us that we were who X was marketing too now. While I had suspected this for some time based on what I have seen on the boards lately, I was actually rather surprised to hear it. It was because of this though that they were so interested in our feedback. I also brought up about how on these boards it seems as though many of their long time loyal customers were upset. She said that they were well aware of the unrest, but that taste were changing. This lead me to believe that they are going to continue to implement the changes despite how many of the people on this board or some long time cruisers may feel. For a while it seemed like they were just trying to satisfy everyone and on one was happy. However, I think they are starting to get away from that and moving in a new direction for better or worse depending on your view of the changes.

 

Now this is where things get really, really interesting. Remember how I stated earlier that Summit is the test ship right now? Why is that? Ashley told me that while she has yet to see it officially on paper the rumor is that X is working on a new build that will be the size of the M class. So they are trying all these new ideas out on the current M class ships to see what may be worth incorporating into the new design. While I know this is just a rumor at this point to me it makes sense. I find it very hard to believe X would build a ship bigger than the S class. If they did, I think they would really struggle to hold onto their image. Additionally, if you look at when X gets rid of their ships, at around 15 to 20 years, we are quickly approaching that for Millennium. So a new build around 2017/2018 makes sense.

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions on this as I'm sure its going to create a lot of them!

 

After Indulgence we decided to call it a night since it was almost midnight. Like I said earlier we had an early tour the next day and needed to be off the ship by 7:30 am. I'll cover day 3 in Bermuda, which turned out to be my favorite, tomorrow.

Edited July 13, 2014 by prim8keeper

[prim8keeper]

Tom, did your tour guide mention when the best time is to visit Bermuda?

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Lucie they said late June/July was a good time to visit. The weather was nice and the water was warm. If you go earlier in the season the water temperatures can still be a little cool and if you go later in the season the risk of there being a hurricane goes up. That said we almost had hurricane Arthur impact our time in Bermuda so I'm not sure it really matters.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Ashley told me that while she has yet to see it officially on paper the rumor is that X is working on a new build that will be the size of the M class. So they are trying all these new ideas out on the current M class ships to see what may be worth incorporating into the new design. While I know this is just a rumor at this point to me it makes sense. I find it very hard to believe X would build a ship bigger than the S class. If they did, I think they would really struggle to hold onto their image. Additionally, if you look at when X gets rid of their ships, at around 15 to 20 years, we are quickly approaching that for Millennium. So a new build around 2017/2018 makes sense.

 

Very interesting! I'd love it if Celebrity would stick to reasonable size ships. And it would make sense since RCI has the biggies.

[need2bespoiled]

 

SNIP to keep the post shorter, see above for full quote

 

After talking about all of this with Ashley I took the opportunity to just ask her a few questions about the changes X was making. At this point she flat out told us that we were who X was marketing too now. While I had suspected this for some time based on what I have seen on the boards lately, I was actually rather surprised to hear it. It was because of this though that they were so interested in our feedback. I also brought up about how on these boards it seems as though many of their long time loyal customers were upset. She said that they were well aware of the unrest, but that taste were changing. This lead me to believe that they are going to continue to implement the changes despite how many of the people on this board or some long time cruisers may feel. For a while it seemed like they were just trying to satisfy everyone and on one was happy. However, I think they are starting to get away from that and moving in a new direction for better or worse depending on your view of the changes.

 

Now this is where things get really, really interesting. Remember how I stated earlier that Summit is the test ship right now? Why is that? Ashley told me that while she has yet to see it officially on paper the rumor is that X is working on a new build that will be the size of the M class. So they are trying all these new ideas out on the current M class ships to see what may be worth incorporating into the new design. While I know this is just a rumor at this point to me it makes sense. I find it very hard to believe X would build a ship bigger than the S class. If they did, I think they would really struggle to hold onto their image. Additionally, if you look at when X gets rid of their ships, at around 15 to 20 years, we are quickly approaching that for Millennium. So a new build around 2017/2018 makes sense.

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions on this as I'm sure its going to create a lot of them!

 

After Indulgence we decided to call it a night since it was almost midnight. Like I said earlier we had an early tour the next day and needed to be off the ship by 7:30 am. I'll cover day 3 in Bermuda, which turned out to be my favorite, tomorrow.

 

This is all great info, presented in a very fair way.

 

It seems X is trying to be a W or maybe one of the newer style Renaissance hotels on the sea. I also see a lot of the newer hotels in Vegas with what they are trying to do. I am the target audience for sure, and to me these are very nice changes.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Edited July 13, 2014 by need2bespoiled

[prim8keeper]

Very interesting! I'd love it if Celebrity would stick to reasonable size ships. And it would make sense since RCI has the biggies.

 

 

 

Agreed and with everyone else going bigger a really easy way to set yourself apart would be to go smaller. Plus with the new restrictions in Venice and the popularity of some of the unique Constellation sailings I would think they will need some smaller ships to go where their guests want to go. While I do like some of the features of the S class that are missing on the M class I found the passenger count to be better. So if you could merge the two together I would be very, very happy.

[prim8keeper]

This is all great info, presented in a very fair way.

 

It seems X is trying to be a W or maybe one of the newer style Renaissance hotels on the sea. I also see a lot of the newer hotels in Vegas with what they are trying to do. I am the target audience for sure, and to me these are very nice changes.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

Thanks! Once I'm done I'm going to try and do a wrap up summary as well to talk about stuff that didn't fit in with all the photos.

 

I agree that most of the changes are positive. We had a few service issues this cruise which I'll talk about later, but in terms of actual changes, we liked all of them.

[DebNJoe]

I am also still enjoying your review - keep it coming :)

 

We were only to Bermuda once on a land trip, about 23 years ago with our then 9 year old son, in tow. Viewing your beautiful pictures makes me realize that we didn't see much of the island when we were there ~ or that my memory is starting to fail -as I am many many years above you LOL :eek:

 

I think we may have to put a cruise to Bermuda on our list. :p