Summit to Bermuda 080215 - A Great Time

[jfslcruise]

It is long, but then again I only post once per year

 

I have a fair number of pics and dailies even for the Kids Club I can post later.

 

Background

Family of four: Me (49), DW (49), DD (16) & DD (12) living in Dallas. My wife takes naps every days (must be worked into our plans). I am a consummate lurker on Cruise Critic and very much appreciate the information that I was able glean on the various boards.

 

I consider myself a pretty savvy traveler. I have traveled extensively for work and currently spend 1-2 nights away each week. Our recent vacation travels include cruises on Solstice to Alaska in 2013 and Navigator of the Seas Western Caribbean in 2014. We have also hit Vermont, Colorado, California and multiple places in Texas as a family.

 

It is big deal for us is to let our kids run free. We have yet to do this on any other venue with the exception of our recent cruises. Maybe they are just older, but I do feel safer on-board a ship in the middle of the ocean than some of the hotels we have stayed at recently. We had a 12:00 am bed check each night this cruise and allowed our elder child one extra hour with her friends. To put in perspective, they are both normally in bed by 9:00 pm (even in summer).

 

My wife & I enjoy drinking. We can appreciate wine with dinner and I enjoy scotch (neat/rocks) and she vodka (with soda or as a martini). I would consider our intake on this vacation on the “high” side. We upgraded to the Premium Package and I can definitely say got our “money’s worth” even before we added specialty coffees and bottled water in to the mix.

 

We enjoy dressing up on formal nights. I have a $99 internet tuxedo I have customized with even cheaper vests/tie combos to now give me two “distinct” looks for each formal night.

 

The only time we have seen the inside of a casino has been during our cruise trips. We are not particularly experience/smart gamblers, but did hit the casino most evenings.

 

Food. We have certainly had our fair share of high-end dining experiences and we can put together a pretty nice meal when the mood hits us. Our 12 year old recently moved beyond chicken fingers and plain pasta, but is not all that adventurous. The rest of us are willing to take varying degrees of risk.

 

Every year we take turns planning the vacation and attempt to keep the secret long enough for it to be a surprise for the others in the family. Our 12 yr. old did the NOS last year and our 16 yr. old had the rights to this year’s vacation. The budget this year was enhanced by some special occasions. My wife & I celebrated our 20th in July and my wife turns 50 later in August. We made the decision to roll any celebration of those events into the vacation (the one concession we made to let my wife in on the planning)

 

Planning began immediately after our trip on the NOS last year. We all had a wonderful time and the initial feeling was to simply book a redux for 2014. Once we decided to make a bigger deal of this year’s event, we began to look other options. My daughter wanted a cruise that was non-negotiable. We initially looked at another trip to Alaska. Solstice out of Seattle was a blast and we briefly look at that, but moved to Infinity round-trip out of Vancouver. We held two cabins for an August cruise for a couple of weeks.

My daughter then came back and said she wanted something completely different. She had never been to NYC and we quickly settled on a trip to NYC with a cruise to Bermuda or even Canada (on Cunard).

We looked at the various options. Cunard to Canada was a bit pricey (on a cost/day basis) for a 5-day cruise as was Liberty out of Bayonne. Then it became Breakaway vs. Summit. The previous experience with Celebrity and the fact that Breakaway seemed to have quite a bit more negative reviews sealed the deal.

We did some research and finally decided that one of the C1 aft cabins (8172) with the inside (8174) across the hall would fit the bill.

We booked this by October. There was an almost immediate rebooking to take advantage of the enhanced offer for Concierge bookings to include drink package, tips and on-board credit at essentially the same price and we were set.

Then began a long game of checking for deals every now and then and looking at reviews of the Summit as she cruised out of PR for the winter. Sat with the daughter before final payment was due and we recommitted to the trip and then began the process of planning the shore parts of our vacation.

 

Daughter’s updated wish list:

NYC: Walk the Brooklyn Bridge, go to top of Empire State Building, see Statue of Liberty, Carriage Ride through Central Park.

Bermuda: Parasailing, zip lining, snorkeling, paddle boarding, and beach

Trip Itinerary:

Arrive NYC Thu afternoon 7/30

Board Summit Sunday 8/2

Depart Summit Sunday 8/9

Depart NYC Monday 8/10

No real ability to use miles for flights on the days and times I wanted, but being from Dallas we were able to get a really nice deal on American matched by Virgin and Southwest when they were all fighting for business as Love Field opened up to NYC.

Did use points on Marriott and Hilton properties.

 

Thursday, July 30: Arrived into LaGuardia on a very rainy day. Weather started to clear during a long ride into the city. We checked into our rooms at the Fairfield by Marriott Times Square (on 40th St between 8th & 9thAve). Rooms were functional, but had very thin walls. The staff was very nice and helpful.

Took cab to Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn and ordered a couple of pizzas. Pizza was good, but not all that impressed with the experience. Walked from Grimaldi’s to Brooklyn Bridge and across. Right at sunset. Some very pretty views of the city. Watch out for a bunch of commuting/exercising Lance Armstrong wannabes! One could get killed as you shared the walkway with these speed demons. On the other side on the mad biker equation, we noticed quite a view people riding “Citi Bikes” they were rental bikes with locations all over the city. More on this later.

 

Friday, July 31: Up early with the girls (5:30am). What caused this on vacation? The major network morning shows had free concerts offered in the morning. We went to Rockefeller Center to see Jason Aldean (NBC). Kids loved it and I was happy.

Went back to hotel collect DW and head out for a trip to One World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial. Started by trooping everyone underground to ride the subway. Nothing too exciting about this. Got off and started walking towards the combined site. Stopped along the way at a deli to get some lunch and found a park to sit under some trees while we ate.

Weather note: NYC under a heat wave with temps in the low 90’s. We smugly enjoyed this because Dallas was in the beginning of a true heat wave which would see multiple days above 100 and a couple around 105.

Minding our own business when what do you think happened?!?!?!?. A Black Sabbath cover band began a lunchtime concert. What an absolute riot! The girls did force us to move along and I have to confess a certain amount of incongruence with the situation given where our ultimate destination was.

The 9/11 Memorial was moving and sobering.

One World Observatory. Took the ride up top. This is not a budget excursion by any stretch. Gift shop and food were both quite pricey. Knew this ahead of time. The views were spectacular and one could usually get an unobstructed view towards whichever direction/landmark you wanted with a bit of patience. The elevator ride up and down was the coolest thing.

Hint: Pay the extra for no-wait tickets to both museum and tower. The lines were long and jokes aside about the heat wave, they were unshaded in the afternoon and a beat down for families with small kids.

Dinner was at Ruby Tuesday in Times Square. Food was okay, but I cannot tell you how impressed we were with the entire wait staff. They really had their act together. Very unexpected for such a touristy place.

Put kids to bed and wife and I snuck out to Press Room atop the Ink48 Hotel. A bit hip and trendy for the likes of us, but we secured a couch with prime viewing of the Harvest Moon as it aligned with the view across 48th. The Hudson River was right behind us.

 

Saturday, August 1

Up bright and early for a brief walk down to the Circle Line pier to board the Beast. It was an absolute blast. The captain and mate were very entertaining and the ride was a great high. They zip you down the Hudson, do some tricks in front of the Statue of Liberty, stop to get a bunch of picks and zip you back. Not very high-brow, but loads of fun.

Stopped by a diner for a quick bite to eat.

1:00pm finds us heading to NYC Summer Streets which is a rambling street festival running up Lafayette and Park for miles. They shut the streets down for all sorts of fun. Sounds cool. We get down to the start and I kind of notice that there are no crowds and I am thinking this thing will be a bust for the organizers. We do see a closed street so my youngest points over to the Citi Bike rental stand and suggests we rent some of those and peddle the route. We own bikes which is a far cry from saying we ride bikes, but we all thought this a fabulous idea. We got the bikes and made it about one block north when a policeman points out that they are opening up the street to traffic. WHOA!!! The festival ended at 1:00pm. No wonder there were not any crowds. No stopping us now. We hit the bike lines and begin a merry of somewhat terrifying ride through NYC traffic to Central Park. How we made it with no accidents is a miracle! We made it, rode a bit through Central Park and dropped the bikes off just outside the park. This was one of my favorite memories of the whole trip. An impromptu experience, completely wheels off that worked!

Our youngest had a friend who told her to hit some candy shop not too far from Central Park so we trudge over to Dylan’s Candy at 60th St & 3rd Ave. It made her happy for me to by a bunch of candy bars for friends back home. We cabbed it back to the Fairfield.

Ate dinner at Patzeria Family & Friends on 48th St. near 8th Ave. A nice neighborhood establishment.

Back to hotel and get kids to bed. Wife & I head out for second night out on town. Started at Hudson Station (35th St & 9th Ave). An American Gastropub. Nice and new, but absolutely no people and a bunch of servers really waiting for us to go home so they could shut down (we are talking like 10-11pm). Walk up 9th to Scallywag’s. They had a one man singer guitarist and an appropriate mix of disreputable characters you want in an Irish dive bar. We stayed beyond late and walked back around the corner to our hotel.

 

Sunday Cruise day – I rose very early nursing a hangover. Inspiration strikes and I load our dirty clothes into a pillowcase and haul them across from Scallywags and hit a laundromat. No rhyme or reason. Just a project to do while everyone else slept.

Get back to hotel and wake all up! The big day has arrived and we tell wife and youngest to repack for a new adventure. Had a limo pick us up at 10:30 for a quick ride to Bayonne. Absolutely no line at Check-in or buffet. Hit buffet and spend just a few minutes in Revelations (deck 11) waiting for rooms which were ready almost exactly at 1:00 pm.

 

Room

Booked C1 8172. We were in the very back end of the ship. The balcony in 8172 is as advertised. A table for four with two loungers and room for more to stand. We did feel “more” vibration than more centrally located portions of the ship, but we were fortunate to escape any seasickness which is something my wife and older daughter have experienced. This even included the last night which saw an extreme amount of movement.

The view leaving NYC was priceless and we has nothing behind us while in port (I guess sometimes you can be looking at Breakaway the whole time).

We had five checked bags and 4 of 5 were delivered before muster drill. The fifth was delayed due to lost tag but ultimately made it. We met our stewards Bernadeth and Jonathan right off the bat. Other than a dearth in the towel art category for both of our cabins, we were extremely pleased with their work and demeanor. Rooms seemed to magically be tidied right after we left in the morning and afternoon.

 

I know many do not appreciate the bubbly provided by Celebrity for Concierge cabins. You get it cold enough and it is perfectly enjoyable for a beautiful sail away. Speaking of sail away, we had a wonderful pass by the Statue of Liberty and then off we went.

 

Did not partake of the complementary hordourves each afternoon and never touched the apples. Did receive two totes bags.

 

We had select dining and I pre-made reservations prior to the cruise (6:45pm with the exception of Day 1 in Bermuda where we skipped the MDR) I cannot stress enough how important this is. Most nights we walked right up and were seated. The no-reservation crowd often had long waits.

We were assigned to Nelson and Carcamo. Together with our wine steward, Jackson, our needs were more than met. We ended up with this same crew every night, but one when we stayed out in Bermuda a bit late. We saw no need to try Specialty dining. Youngest had fruit plate and the strip on the right side of the menu every night, but threw in tries of Gazpacho (a miss for her) and carpaccio (a miracle win) for variety.

 

Cannot remember all of our meals, but by in large we were pleased. A couple of over dried/cooked meals, but it all worked out just fine and we had plenty of variety, wine and bread to keep us more than happy.

 

At 8:00pm, our children began a routine pattern of pining to leave us to head up to the kid’s club. The left us to finish our coffee in peace.

We were usually seated around 6:45 – 7 and basically out by 8:15 pm

 

Other Food Notes:

Oceanview - I hit breakfast buffet and made sure kids ate something. Wife slept til lunch on sea days. Met for lunch every day at noon in Oceanview. Food is subjective, but one thing I did notice is that many people failed to realize the different stations located on both sides and in the back of the café. It could be more than a bit confusing, but it did pay to walk around a bit before jumping in line. At noon, we never had trouble finding a table and getting food. The pizza and pasta lines could get a bit long but not really more than a 5 minute wait to get what you wanted.

 

Pool Grill (10) – Had hot/burger several days. Picked one up and headed back into Oceanview to sit with family.

 

Specialty Restaurants – Did not visit any

 

AquaSpa – Did not visit

 

Room Service – Did not use

 

After dinner, we had our first drink at the Martini Bar which proved to be a reliable hit for us. They had plenty of scotch and my wife was always to enjoy the various vodka creations she was partial to.

 

By 9:00 pm we drifted into the theater to see the welcoming show. I have read an awful lot of negative press about Ken Mills, but I have to say I did not find him that bad at all. We have taken a total of 5 cruises in our lives and this was the first time I have ever had the inclination to even speak to the Cruise Director or his assistant, Baldo. These guys were both very friendly and did remember our previous conversations as the week went on.

Anyway, a nice opening act with a funny, but forgettable comedian. Back to the Martini bar for more drinks, cards tricks and juggling with the bartenders. Hit the casino more for novelty than anything else then off to bed.

 

Other Entertainment – Enjoyed Welcoming show with Ken, an acrobat and comedian. In general liked comedians, found the musicians hit or miss and avoided the stage shows.

We really enjoyed the Quest-esque adult show one night (Thursday?). It was an abridged version of RCI’s Quest with such things, as Kiss the Bald guy (men & women), show a tattoo or piercing, dress male up as woman, etc. We ended up in the very back with a team of four and had a blast. The following Motown hits dance was also fun.

The Liars Club word definition game was kind of funny but missed the mark for me.

Had three movie under the stars (MUTS) scheduled but one rained out.

 

MONDAY – Sea Day

First formal night saw us dressed up enough to get a couple of pictures taken worth buying. Only a handful of tuxedos, but a bunch of suits and only handful with no jacket at all. Leaving debate about dress code aside we did a smattering of shorts/jeans from time to time.

We modified our dinner routine to take coffee with a fortified coffee in Café Al Baccio (5th). This venue became a regular stop for pre-dinner/post nap coffee and light reading people watching every afternoon.

 

Tuesday

More rest and relaxation.

 

Wednesday – Initially I was one of those people who judge a cruise by how many different ports we hit. I don’t want to say that I am so well-traveled now I don’t want the new experience, but after last year’s jaunt through the Caribbean I cottoned to the idea of staying put. The daily exodus to run of the ship, clear customs and get in line for whatever tour was set and then hurry back so as not to miss departure was something that wore thin last year.

This year, we did don’t even get off until after lunch. Not a line in the world. No hassle for tickets or anything. We had pre-booked a pontoon boat rental from 2-6 with KS Watersports right out of the dockyard. Spencer set us up at the dock and showed us where to go. We drove the boat out to the wreck to feed the fish (bread given to us) and then back a little bit to anchor off a couple islands. We could see the larger snorkel boats maybe a 100 yards away. We had snorkel gear and noodles and simply worked our way over to them. Plenty of fish to be seen and a pleasant, no rough water. We had time to boat down to the Sommerset Bridge to see the “world’s Smallest Drawbridge”

Returned the boat and ate dinner in the Oceanview

 

Thursday

Breakfast in Oceanview and down to the dock to board with KS Watersports to Parasail. Loads of fun. Guys were friendly and competent, Kids rode tandem and then triple with the wife. All had a blast.

Lunch in Oceanview and then took taxi to Daniel’s Head to Surf’s Up for paddleboard rental. I cannot tell how enjoyable this afternoon turned out to be. The beach was not much to look at, but had perfectly calm water. A hammock and a few locals splashing around. Snorkeling to one side and you could paddleboard to the right and see sea turtles.

I ended-up wading in the water with the owner and drinking beer with him. We all were winners.

Cabbed it back for a Dinner in the MDR

 

Friday

Cabbed to Horseshoe Bay. Basic facilities. We got 2 chairs and an umbrella ($35). The kids climbed the cliff right inside the entrance and got some great pictures. Fair number of people but not too crowded given last day in Bermuda. Shared a Shuttle back to dockyard, did some shopping then on board to clean up and get ready for 2nd formal night

 

Medical Note: I ended up with some sort of weird infection on my chin. I went to the ship’s doctor that afternoon. Jo the nurse was very personable. The doctor made a quick examination and gave me some antibiotics and topical gel. The visit cost <$200. Maybe my insurance covers (we had no trip insurance), but this was comparable to going to a Doc in the Box back home. Still want to go to my regular doctor for follow-up

 

Second Note: Doctor said our cruise had more than a regular amount of mishaps (trauma was the word used). We did notice at least 5 people on board who had injuries from wiping out while riding rental scooters in Bermuda.

 

Saturday - Very rainy and rocky day. Relaxed.

 

Sunday - Requested late departure. Off ship by 9:00 and cleared customs by 9:30am. Stayed at Hilton Times Square. Had intended to go to Central Park and walk around some more, but we made the mistake of closing our eyes and ended up napping the day away. Last walk through Central Park was the memorable if appalling view of the “Naked Cowboy” plying his trade in Times Square.

 

Monday - Off to the airport and back home to Dallas.

 

Parting Comments:

Fellow Guests – Not surprisingly a very heavy NJ/NY contingent. Lots of kids. Pool was very crowded on sea days, but plenty of seating up on 11. We did the formal night with Tuxedo and fancy dresses and were able to get a couple of pictures taken worth buying. Only a handful of tuxedos, but a bunch of suits and only handful with no jacket at all. Leaving debate about dress code aside we did a smattering of shorts/jeans from time to time in MDR.

 

Kids Club - Our kids loved it. Usually used it as a place to meet and then venture off, but our 12 yr. old did a number of the group activities.

Our rules: Must meet for lunch & Dinner. Check on both at midnight and we allowed eldest to stay out to 1:00 am with another face-to-face. No visitors to room and no going in another room. No drinking anything handed to them by a stranger and no doing anything to cause stress to any other guest (I heard anecdotal stories of bad behavior by kids, but honestly did not see anything too bad)

One of the funnier experiences during the cruise came Friday when I boarded one the elevators on 8 heading to the ship’s doctor on 1. I get on with 3 kids and a dad all looking like they were caught doing something wrong. I turn to Press “1” and notice ever single button is lit. I am slow on the uptake at times. We hit floor 7, one of the kids blames her sister and they all (dad included) run off giggling before I really register what has been done.

 

Ship

We loved the smaller ship compared to something like the Navigator of the Seas. Additionally, it felt much more like sailing. Plenty of windows and outward facing venues. The NOS seemed to focus everything inward.

Our youngest did miss the flowrider and ice skating, but the older girl did not.

There is no denying that the ship needs some work. The shower curtain was kind of gross when it would cling to you. Plenty of the outside had rust. The ship was not in any way dirty, it just needed some major work. Additionally we routinely smelled a sewage type odor coming from the back end of the ship. It did not seem to be from our group of cabins, but one would hit these pockets from time to time.

 

Temperature was fine. Even when wearing my heavy, non-breathing tuxedo.

 

Pool – As mentioned earlier very crowded on sea days. Had a number events including belly flop contest during the day. Because of the crowds, we missed most of the pool events because we were not really in the pool area. This is a well-documented fact and I do not feel I missed much.

 

Solarium Pool – Did not try the T-pool

 

A thoroughly enjoyable time with a very hospitable crew.

[montgomeryfamily]

Thanks for your review--I enjoyed reading it very much! We are going to be cruising on the Summit in just a couple of weeks. I would appreciate it if you could post the dailies.

[Iamcruzin]

Thanks for the review. I especially enjoyed your review of NYC. I have to say that your family as seen and has done more in a few days than I have done in 54yrs. I have only driven in Manhattan once to pick my wife up from work during a storm that shut down the Long Island Rail Road. I would never attempt a bicycle ride. I also work with a women who used to manage that Dylan's candy shop. I had never even heard of Dylan's until I met her only 2yrs ago.

[jayoldschool]

Great review, thanks for your time.

 

Regarding your wife's sleeping habits (in bed until lunch, daily naps)... has she ever had a sleep study? I would highly suspect that she is experiencing something like apnea and/or increased CO2 levels.

[Tall Jersey Girl]

Thanks for the review. I'm on the Summit this Sunday. I also have a deck 8 aft. I love the large balcony.

[MisterMet]

Thanks for your comprehensive and entertaining review. We're looking forward to out late August 2016 Summit to Bermuda cruise and this was very helpful.

[jfslcruise]

Balcony Pics leaving NYC.

[jfslcruise]

Day 1 Daily

[jfslcruise]

With Attachment

080215 Day1 Boarding a.pdf

[jfslcruise]

Day 2 Daily

[Keith1010]

Great review.

 

Keith

[long time lurker]

Thanks for the review and the great pictures of what will be "our balcony" next February. Regarding the "sewage smell," was that noticed on the balcony or in the cabin and how strong was it? Did it interfere with your enjoyment of the room or balcony? Thanks

[red4lisa]

Enjoyed your review, haven't tried Celebrity yet but, would like to do Bermuda with them.