Photo Review: Celebrity Summit 2/7/15 Southern Caribbean (with 2 days in San Juan)

[HeatherC430]

 

Stateroom – Cabin 9001 – Ocean view

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

As reported on the boards, the few random snacks in the room to tempt you as shown below were $5 each plus 15% gratuity if you eat any of them. This rubs me the wrong way. Either have snacks at a reasonable price for what you're getting, or don't offer anything at all. All these do is take up space on the already small vanity area. Any of the items shown would cost only a $1 if purchased at any mini-mart or convenience store!

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

Some photos from around the ship...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[themutis]

Thanks for your review! Your photos are awesome.

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[Redtravel]

Enjoying your photos and comments. I love the Summit. I have sailed on her twice. I have 3 future cruise bookings on her this year. On my last cruise on the Summit, there were several changes on trial basis in the buffet. I am curious if they kept the changes. Metal baskets? Charcuterie? Theme dessert days? I loved cupcake day. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

Then my DH decided to do some backflips into the pool. I'm still surprised no one stopped him (He does this off our diving board at home all the time)...Kids: Don't try this at home!

 

 

 

Since no one stopped him, he decided to do a few more.

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

The next day was a Sea Day. If you read my other reviews, you’ll know that I much prefer days in port over Sea days. Our Cruise Critic meet n’ mingle was scheduled for 9:15 am that morning. I receive the invite in our stateroom on embarkation day. I thought it was at 9:30 (only by the quick glance at it that morning), so when I rolled in, the captain and other staff were already at the tail end of answering questions, and it wrapped up shortly afterwards. One woman approached me from the roll call and I chatted with her for a few minutes. She said she thought there weren’t as many people in attendance as were suspected because they had it pretty much at the same time (9:30) of the behind the scenes tour of the galley. In any case, I think this will be my last cruise critic meeting I’ll attend. I find them pretty awkward when forced to meet n’ mingle. I’d much prefer to strike up a conversation in a lounge or shore excursion, etc. Just not my scene.

 

Anyways, after returning to my cabin to meet-up with my DH we spent the better part of the day having breakfast, grabbed a coffee, lunch & enjoying an hour or so in the sun on one of the top decks. There were literally NO chairs in the areas around the pools that weren’t occupied by other’s towels and place savers (books, bags, etc). We found a quiet area in the aft of the ship on the very top deck that still had a few chairs.

 

 

 

 

 

Our captain's club coupons were in our room on embarkation day. As always, the only ones we used were for the free gelato. I love that you can use the free scoop coupon for one of the gelato cookie sandwiches!

 

[HeatherC430]

That night was formal night (which we don’t partake in) so we decided to go to Bistro on Five for dinner. It’s $7 per person coverage charge. It was pretty much empty the entire time we were there other than a few members of the crew eating there. We’ve eaten there in the past and really enjoyed it, and this time was no exception. There were a few things added to the menu since last year’s visit. I got the caramelized onion tart with goat cheese as my appetizer. It was really good! My DH didn’t see anything that appealed to him, so our waitress talked him into some fancy meat/cheese platter – I can’t remember the proper name of it. It was a bit strange with pickles and apricot jam on the side. I at least tried a few things from his plate, so at least it appeared to be half way eaten. The crepes were great as usual. I had the cowboy crepe, and my DH had the hot n’ spicy. We were stuff after eating them, and couldn’t even make room for dessert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HeatherC430]

 

 

Up next...Barbados

[shell15]

Great report!!! I am loving your pictures! We leave in a week for San Juan and I have a feeling I'm going to be visiting this thread a ton during the next week..gets me so excited!

 

Thanks for posting :)

[scubamommy!]

Loving all the pictures! Especially of SJ. We will be there next month! Thanks!

[wencam]

Just LOVE your picture reviews, so I'm subsribing in order to get notification of updates and new postings!

We're booked on Summit, same itinerary - in April 2016!

You have a fantastic way of communicating and sharing cruise details, and your pictures are always awesome, thank you so much! :D

[jugalava]

Add me to the list of people who love your reviews! So enjoyable to read & look at your photos.

We're doing the same trip in the next few weeks (Ciqala included). Living vicariously til then...

[luv2trvlnow]

I am also loving your review. We will be doing this itinerary next month on March 21. We are also planning on going to the Boatyard and Valley Church Beach. The information you gave will definitely come in handy. I have subscribed to the thread so I don't miss anything.

Edited February 18, 2015 by luv2trvlnow

[HeatherC430]

This was my 3rd time in Barbados. The first trip was my very first cruise many moons ago, and the last time was a few years back with my DH. On both trips, I did essentially the “booze cruise” on the pirate ship through the cruise line (Carnival). On this trip, my DH & I wanted to do one of the snorkeling with the turtle tours. I had read great reviews of the tour company Calabaza that does catamaran sails, which included a snorkel stop with the turtles. The tour option we chose was their Lunch cruise. At the price tag of $110 per person, the tour was to include (from their site) “Five hours along the beautiful coast of Barbados, serving you warm banana bread and hors d’oeuvres before our first stop snorkeling turtles and another stop snorkeling over a reef or wreck. Then off to a quiet bay for a delicious lunch and dessert. The bar is open throughout with cocktails available”

 

The instructions provided by email were that we were to be picked up at 9am at Gate One of the cruise port. It was easy to find. We waited until our group assembled and a van came to pick us up to take us to the dock where the boat was. One of the nicest aspects of this tour is it’s limited to only 12 guests per sailing so it provides a more intimate setting without being too overcrowded. The tour was to last from 9:30am and return at 2:30am.

 

We booked directly with the tour company: http://www.calabazasailingcruises.com/cruises.html

 

Upon email exchanges we were given the price per person. We had to give a credit card to hold our reservation, but paid cash on the day of the tour. The tour was pretty much exactly as described above, although we were given carrot cake instead of banana bread. We were given fish cakes (with a dipping sauce) – which was my favorite of all the food offered before the snorkeling stop. Then we had the turtle stop first. There were several other tour operators at the same spot. We got to see around 5-6 turtles in a close vicinity. Next we did another snorkel stop at a reef where there was a reasonable amount of fish and other sea life. After the snorkeling we were served lunch which was a nice assortment of various foods, followed by dessert. I wish I would have taken pictures of all the food offered, but I only got to snap a shot of the desert dish that was given to each of us. The local Banks beer was available on the entire sailing as well as other beverages. My DH & I both drank Banks so I’m not sure of the specifics of the other offerings.

 

One of the nicest surprised was how friendly and helpful the crew of three were on our ship (the captain of the boat, and two others who took turns with each of the snorkel stops). One thing that I thought was especially nice, was that they took pictures both onboard and in the water during the snorkeling stops with a waterproof camera (Olympia). You were able to give them your email address and they say they’ll send you the pictures via email. I’m still waiting for the photos via email, but I’ll be sure to post some here when I receive them. Even though I already had my own waterproof camera, I thought it was a nice touch that most tour companies do not do. It’s especially nice for those who don’t have waterproof cameras.

 

All in all, both my DH & I had a great day on the water. When the tour was over, we didn’t want to get off the boat! Being boat owners ourselves, one of the aspects we most appreciated was the degree of cleanliness and maintenance of the boat. Typically when doing a lot of tours the boats are not kept in great condition due to overuse or various other reasons. That was not the case with Calabaza. We wouldn’t hesitate to book Calabaza next time we’re in Barbados (in fact I’m sure we will) & would highly recommend them to others.

 

Now onto the pictures of our day in Barbados…