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March 26-April 2 Summit "review"

vuildog

By vuildog,
in Celebrity Cruises

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vuildog

vuildog

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After having a couple of weeks to digest our trip, I thought I would offer up my thoughts, and opinions. I know there have been many reviews, but thought it was about time I actually posted one. Always fun to read peoples thoughts and opinions. Bear with me; this is my first “review”. These are strictly my rambling thoughts and opinions. For reference, I am almost 43, and travel with my 66 years young mom. Cruise # 14. 4 Celebrity, 1 NCL, 1 RCCL, & 8 Carnival. Now on to the good stuff.

 

Arrived in San Juan on the 24th. Got to the Marriott Stellaris in Condado about 3:30ish. Great location if you aren’t looking to go into Old San Juan. It is a $25 cab ride without tip, to OSJ, according to our cab driver taking us to the port We stayed here the last time we cruised out of SJ, but didn’t arrive until midnight that trip. So we were happy to explore the hotel and grounds. The hotel is nothing special. It is a typical Marriott hotel in my opinion. We stayed in the Cabana tower, floor 9. Decent size room, with a fantastic ocean view. It would be a great place to stay, if you have children. Great zero depth pool, and a waterslide. The staff we encountered were all fantastic. The helpful ladies at the pool bar suggested 3-4 restaurants, and 2 of them were on our list for dinner. If we come back to San Juan again, we will be staying at the Condado Vanderbilt. Just a couple of blocks down the street, and very nice. Would love to have been able to check out a room. But the grounds are amazing. Not much more than the Marriott, and a lot nicer IMHO.

 

 

Went to dinner the first night at Ropa Vieja. Outstanding!!! Best meal of our trip. We normally share something, and were thrilled that this is the route we took this evening. We still had half a plate of food left over. We ordered the Arroz con Pollo. Heaven on a plate! I wish I knew what the rice was cooked in, cause it was fantastic. The chicken was equally delicious. However, we did find tiny bones in the chicken as we ate. The menu doesn’t mention the chicken as bone in chicken. Quite a shock to bit into one. But it was so dang good, I didn’t care if choking was a possibility. Did mention the bones to our server, but didn’t really get a response from her. I had 2 beers, and my mom had 2 glasses of chard. I did forget to mention that we ended up ordering beef empanadas, after ordering our meal. The table next to us got an order, and kept saying how great they were. We were jealous, so we ended up getting an order. They were good, but nothing like the chicken and rice. Our total bill was $68.75 after tipping 20% We made a plan to come back the next night. We did get there early, just after 6. There were maybe 6 tables taken at that time. It filled up fast after we arrived, so we were glad that we got there early. They do take reservations.

 

Made a stop into Walgreens & CVS , and headed back to the Marriott. Had a couple of expensive drinks apiece in the bar, and watched the people dancing. They have live music every night according to the bartender. Lots of fun listening & watching. Off to bed at a respectable 11:30. It was a great first day of vacation.

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vuildog

vuildog

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After a busy day of traveling the day before, and getting settled in San Juan, we were ready for a lazy day. No agenda today, except for relaxing on the beach. We were quite successful. It was a beautiful, windy, day. Sat under an umbrella from 9-2. Think I only got up once, or twice, from my chair. My mom has a serious case of ants in the pants, but she was remarkably relaxed as well! Lots of action on the beach, so my head was on a swivel! By 2, we were ready for a change of pace. Took our stuff up to our room, and headed out to wander around, and have a drink, or two.

 

Ended up walking past the Condado Vanderbilt, and knew we needed to stop inside. What a lovely hotel, and the pool area was fantastic as well. Definitely more of a Four Seasons feel. I was quite jealous i wasn't lounging at their pool. Looking online at rates, it is about $50 more a night than the Marriott. Will definitely stay here, if we cruise out of San Juan again.

 

After a short walk up the road, we stopped for happy hour at a Mexican restaurant. Don't remember the name, but a tiny hole in the wall. Maybe 8-10 tables. But they had $1.00 Kalik Beer, and Margarita's were also on special. Don't remember the cost, since i'm a beer drinker. We were tempted by appetizers, but I was on a mission to go back to Ropa Vieja for round two. Hated to spoil my appetite. Walking back towards the hotel, there were a couple of street vendors hawking their wares. One of the tables was quite busy. Ran into CVS for something, and checked it out afterwards. Not quite sure why it was so busy, but did buy a couple of $1.00 yarn bracelets from the vendor next door.

 

The wonderful bartenders, at the Marriott Pool, had also highly suggested visiting Orozca for dinner. We happened to walk right past on our way back to the hotel. Of course you know what I was routing for, but i agreed we could give it a whirl. So back to the Marriott to shower.

 

By this time, the dark clouds were rolling in. Looked like it was going to pour. So i grabbed my umbrella, and we headed out for a drink, and dinner.

Without my money! Genius, I know! Had another drink, cannot remember the name of the place, and decided to check out Orozco. The place was hopping. We were told about a half hour, but it ended up being just over an hour for a table. My turn to buy dinner, so I ran back to the hotel to grab my purse. This is when the ran unleashed. I was so glad I had brought my umbrella. Mom was dry at a table, under the awning. I have to say, I was disappointed in Orozco. The food was just good. Nothing to write home about. We again shared chicken and rice. Maybe this was a mistake after our previous nights dinner? But I really thought i was going to be wowed, since the place was so busy. But then again, maybe this is why it wasn't that great? I swear I am not a foodie. Very happy with a peanut butter sandwich. We should have gone to Buns:D Buy this time, it was 10, and we headed back to the Marriott. Poured ourselves a drink, and re-packed our suitcases. The Summit is calling our names!

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vuildog

vuildog

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Sorry for the delay in my trip report.

 

Unfortunately, I have a big yard, and am the only person doing the yard work! It always takes waaay longer than I think it will take. The good news is, the front yard is looking good. All tidy, and ready for summer. New mulch, a few new bushes, and I even planted flowers. Hope we don't get a freeze! Now I need to work on my monstrous back yard.:( But that can wait since we are finally getting some much needed rain.

 

So I will be back later today for embarkation day, and hopefully day 2, Tortola!

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

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vuildog

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We really didn’t have a plan for embarkation day. But we thought we should get to the port at 11ish. I was, of course, up at the crack of dawn, and couldn’t get back to sleep. My mother was still fast asleep. Still dark out, and my watch said 5:00. Ugh! After much tossing and turning, it was finally 7:30, and my mom was stirring. We showered, made sure our docs were signed, luggage tags on the suitcase, and we were ready to rock and roll. Of course it was only 9:30. After twiddling our thumbs, we decided to go down to the lobby, and check out the action. I checked us out, had a quick chat with some roll call friends, and we were back to twiddling our thumbs. So we decided to just head over to the port, even though it was just shy of 10.

 

Arrived at the port about 10:20, after waiting forever for a cab. Not sure why the cabs parked at the hotel couldn’t take us?? It was a $20 before tip, ride to the port. Quite expensive I thought? They have changed up the process for baggage, since the last time we departed from SJ. I thought it was a little confusing, and it wasn’t even busy. So I am glad now that we got there before the crowd. No more just grabbing a waiting port worker to take your luggage. You now walk through a cordoned off area to a desk, where they are taking bags. When it is busy, I’m not sure I would like waiting in another line to give them our bags. But maybe this changes once they get busy? I sure hope so. We got into line with about 15 people ahead of us. Were in line for about 15-20 minutes, when they told us all to move into the Elite line? Not sure what this was about, but the people at the front of our line, were now at the back of the new line. We were lucky, and right at the end of the Elite line, so just ducked under the rope. After letting in passengers in wheelchairs, the doors officially opened just before 11. Quickly checked in, got our pictures taken for our cards, and were on the ship with mimosas, by 11:15. It was going to be a great day.

 

Our only real plan for the day, was booking shore excursions immediately. We don’t normally book anything through the ship, but had $450 in on-board credit to spend, since we had booked this trip on the Equinox last year. We also had the 123 go promo, tips, and beverage package included. So we decided to use some of the credit for a couple of excursions. We decided on 2 excursions through the ship. Escape to Jost Van Dyke(Tortola) & Caribbean “fast cat” 2 island snorkel & beach(St. Thomas). Of course the Escape to Jost Van Dyke was sold out, but was told the interest was huge, so they were trying to secure another catamaran. But we got the other tickets. They said we would have ticket that night if they secured another cat. I learned something that I thought I would share. Had no idea you could do this. Go ahead and book ahead online all of your shore excursions. Once you get on the ship, they will credit your card, and charge it to your on-board account. This way you won’t lose out on an excursion you want to take. We did get lucky, and tickets were on our bed that night. With this out of the way, we could finally really get into vacation mode. Or so we thought…..

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vuildog

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After leaving the shore excursions desk, it was time for a drink. Head to the Martini Bar, and order our drinks. Hand the bartender our cards, and tell him we want to upgrade from the classic,to the premium beverage package. He comes back with drinks, and charges for the premium beverage package.:ee Told him that it should be just the difference between the classic package we already have, and the premium. He tells me we don't have the classic package. Crapola!

 

Taking deep breaths, we left to go stand in the long line at guest relations. Long story short, none of our "perks" were added to our account. I about lost it, but happened to have our original booking, showing the perks. Good thing the cabins weren't ready yet, and they were handy in my bag. After standing there for what seemed like an eternity, they finally, supposedly, had everything straightened out. We both laughed later on about our Meet the Parents moment. When Gaylord is at the airport, and the agent types away for an eternity, and he stands there ready to have a breakdown. This was us, standing there listening to her keyboard click away. Just knowing it wasn't going to end well for us. But it ended perfectly! I wish I had written down the ladies name, she was incredibly personable, kind, empathetic & apologetic.

 

Drained, we headed to the Cosmopolitan restaurant for lunch. Of course stopping at another bar on the way, to test our cards. Phew, they work!! I cannot remember the name of our entree, but it was chicken in a phyllo dough. It was quite good. We didn't eat any of the apps, salads, or desserts. The chicken was plenty. Things were looking up for us! We decided to go to the Oceanview Bar, to wait for cabins to open. But as we stepped out of the restaurant, they announced that cabins were ready. Woot woot! No more hauling our carry on bags with us. Even better, we get to our cabin, and my suitcase was at the door. We were in cabin 8099. A concierge cabin, fairly mid-ship. It was the perfect location! First thoughts of our cabin were that it was much smaller than our concierge cabin on the Equinox. But from reading the boards, I knew this going in. So I cannot complain. Like I said, it was in a great location. This made up for the small cabin. Plus, we spend as little time as possible in our cabin, so it wasn't a huge deal. We were on the Summit back in 2013, and I remember thinking our cabin was small back then. Just thought maybe this cabin would be a smidge larger, since it is a higher class of cabin! My failure! Also met our lovely cabin steward, Joanne! She is the first female cabin steward, we have ever had. She is in our top three so far! She took excellent care of us all week. Our only request was more hangers. She had them to use before we could even leave. I was not in the mood to unpack, may as well wait and do it when my mom's bag arrives. So off to my favorite spot on the ship, the Oceanview Bar.

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vuildog

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Sorry I am being so long winded. Didn't think I was a long winded kind of gal. Will try and not ramble on so much...

 

So, the Oceanview Bar. My absolute favorite spot on the ship. This trip was no exception. I absolutely love sitting at the back of the ship, drink in hand, watching the ship's wake. We bellied up to the bar, and I did a double take. Our favorite bartender from the Equinox, was standing right before our eyes. He shockingly remembered us 10 months later. He even remembered I drink Amstel Light. Probably because I gave him a lot of trouble on the Equinox. They ran out of Amstel Light. How in the world does that happen? Anyways, it was great to catch up with him again. He was only at the Oceanview bar for embarkation day.:( Guess we would become more acquainted with the Rendezvous Lounge, where Mark was working.

 

Attended the muster drill, and I think we all know how that goes. People not showing up, talking while being given important instruction, etc. I don't know why I continue to be surprised. Maybe someday people will take it seriously:rolleyes:

 

Watched sailaway, and headed for dinner in the dining room. We had select seating. I don't remember what we ate, but we both thought it was good, but cold. But neither of us wanted to send it back. But we did mention, it was cold. After dinner, we headed to the Renezvous Lounge. I believe this night they had the first night of Karaoke tryouts. Chatted it up with Mark, got our nightly mudslide to go, and headed to bed early. It was a great first day!

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carolslc

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Drained, we headed to the Cosmopolitan restaurant for lunch.

 

This is the MDR, right? I had no idea it was open on embarkation day. Am I understanding correctly that it is? Is this for all passengers? Thanks.

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vuildog

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This is the MDR, right? I had no idea it was open on embarkation day. Am I understanding correctly that it is? Is this for all passengers? Thanks.

 

Sorry, I should have clarified my statement. The MDR is open to Concierge cabins on embarkation day.

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vuildog

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Today, we are headed out on the Escape to Jost Van Dyke excursion, through Celebrity. I have to be honest; my whole goal for this trip was getting to the Soggy Dollar Bar! Sad, but true! I wanted to see what all the hype was about! I was really looking forward to our day ahead.

 

We always start out at Café al Bacio for coffee, and a croissant. It’s turned out to be our morning routine on Celebrity. Gathered our coffee, and headed to the Rendezvous lounge. Waited just a minute, or two, and we were called to disembark. After a short walk, we made it to our catamaran. It was going to be another great day.

 

Headed out to our first location for snorkeling. Sorry, cannot for the life of me remember where we stopped. Not a big snorkeling fan, but I did join in for a little bit. I think we were here for about 45 minutes, to an hour. Back on the catamaran, we were all excited to head to Jost Van Dyke & White Bay. It did not disappoint. Beautiful, calm, clear blue water. Heaven! You could swim in to shore, or wait for the dinghy to take you in the short distance. Found a couple of beach chairs (included in the excursion pricing), and got ourselves a drink. This excursion included a drink, and lunch. Drank our “painkillers”, and headed to the real home of the Painkiller, The Soggy Dollar. Now I am a beer girl, and my mom is a chardonnay drinker. But the original painkiller is delicious. I think it is the fresh nutmeg they grate over the top of your drink? So unexpected, but gives it that extra something. Picked up a couple of new t-shirts as well. Back to our chairs for a little R & R. Hung out in the water, took another walk to the Soggy Dollar Bar, and watched all of the yachts anchoring. What a fantastic spot! But after a couple of hours of soaking up the scene, it was time to head back to the catamaran. We were all a little sad to go. But I will be back some day. Hoping sooner, rather than later! I would rate this excursion a 10/10.

 

Back on the ship, we headed to our cabin to grab our Scrabble board. Set up shop in our favorite spot, the Oceanview bar. Played a little Scrabble, drank, chatted & watched sail away. Life is good!

 

Showered, and decided to meet some new friends at the Martini Bar for a drink. I know better than to drink any martini. But of course I just had to try a peartini. Quite delicious! Ended up going to the MDR for dinner, with our new friends. I wasn’t impressed with our dinner. But it was food, and I needed something to eat. After dinner, I made a very bad mistake. We went back to the Martini Bar, and I ordered another peartini.:eek: Chatted with our friends for a while, and headed to bed.

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