Review of Summit Panama Canal Eastbound 14-Night Cruise ~ 10-23-05 thru 11-6-05

[charlielinda]

Heather don't give the bed a second thought. I know you'll sleep just fine on any ship at sea! I think this discussion is so silly -- I've never had trouble sleeping at sea on any line in bed or even on the couch!

[makethegrade]

Excellent EXCELLENT photos Steven, thank you for sharing. A few questions and comments...

 

What was the lemon cocktail for?

 

We will be in cabin 7131, which is approximately midship, which side of the ship I can't recall. Will it matter which side we are on for viewing the locks? I am hoping we can spend the day on our balcony (veranda).

 

I love the clever titling of the photo, More Melons, with peoples heads in the background.

 

I loooooove the sunset shots...breathtaking colors. You must be very proud of those.

 

Thanks again for all the information and beautiful photos!

 

we were 6102.. starboard... I FINALLY GOT THAT FOLKS!!

we were mid ship. Since we were going south down Mexico we had beautiful sunsets every night.

 

We have very nice views of the locks, but front and back of the ship was really better for the 'full effect' pictures.

 

I do love the sunset shots. I think I have 90 of them in all.. but the sunsets just kept getting better and better.

[makethegrade]

Just for the record... I did NOT like our bed for 2 reasons.

1. It was too soft and I prefer firmer

2. It was 2 twin beds pushed together to make a queen and it kept separating and I kept getting caught in the 'crack'. I minor nuisance you may say... but it's my nuisance!

 

Having said this... I slept fine the whole trip...partly since I was relaxed worn out by the end of the day, and partly since I love the gentle rocking of the boat and the sounds of the water... so ... ah.. embryonic? Is that a good word of it?

[makethegrade]

Just for the record... I did NOT like our bed for 2 reasons.

1. It was too soft and I prefer firmer

2. It was 2 twin beds pushed together to make a queen and it kept separating and I kept getting caught in the 'crack'. I minor nuisance you may say... but it's my nuisance!

 

Having said this... I slept fine the whole trip...partly since I was relaxed worn out by the end of the day, and partly since I love the gentle rocking of the boat and the sounds of the water... so ... ah.. embryonic? Is that a good word of it?

[xpcdoojk]

Wonderful reviews. It sounds like a wonderful time was had by all. :)

So what is the status of the Cirque du soleil thing in the lounge? Is there any Cirque at all? Or is that yesterdays news.:confused:

 

jc

[makethegrade]

Wonderful reviews. It sounds like a wonderful time was had by all. :)

So what is the status of the Cirque du soleil thing in the lounge? Is there any Cirque at all? Or is that yesterdays news.:confused:

 

jc

 

The Cirque show is gone. Apparently finished about 6 weeks prior to our cruise. The Bar on the Edge of the Earth by Cirque remains. It was the former Revelations Lounge (in fact the ship maps still call it that.. so there was minor confusion at times apparently). The Cirque store is still on the Emporium area on Deck 5. They sold T shirts and masks and other stuff. I didnt' go in it the whole cruise for whatever thats worth.

 

Personally, I thought the bar was cool in an art deco sort of way. But then again, there aren't many bars that I don't like! :eek:

 

The little grottos with the beds in the back are my favorite... (a perfect lead in for where was the most adventureous place you got romantic on the ships not-so-newlywed game ;)

 

They have so many things there... bingo, trivia, happy hour music... and all the karaoke, newlywed game... and partying at night... etc...

 

The bottom line is that the show is gone, but the club remains.

 

As an aside, my favorite watering hole on the ship is the mast bar at the peak of the afternoon by the pool.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thanks, jc! I don't share Steve's opinion of the Bar at the Edge of the Earth. First of all ... too darned long a name. So they called it The Edge, but not officially. On the elevators it still says "Revelations" and I wish they would just go through there with a huge vacuum and get all the junk out. Didn't like it ... it's takes away from the magnificent views outside ... too much cloth.

 

Steve, maybe we just didn't move around in the bed that much:o , but we had no problem with the bed separating.:D That's all I'll say on that;)

 

We purposely booked the port side so we could see the Baja coast as we travelled south and that was amazing even though it was very misty in the morning. I prefer port anyway, but especially this trip. Steve is right that fore and aft was the best way to see the locks, but we stayed on our verandah most of the time and had a pretty amazing view. I went to the starboard side for awhile as we were alongside the Radiance of the Seas and that was a fascinating thing to watch as they were lowered before us and we were looking down on their top deck.

 

We got magnificent sunsets from the locks on. So really either side is great depending on your preference.

 

Though we don't drink alcohol, we loved the Rendezvous for a drink before dinner.

 

Since Steve didn't ask us over to his suite for all his goodies and festivities, we had to make do with whatever we could find:o ... I know!!! Poor us!!! (Steve;) ... I'm teasing you)

[Lois R]

Hi:) jc, from what I have read, Cirque is going into the Celebrity

Theater....with more of a show, (rather than an "experience" as it was

titled before).

Not sure of the details about when it is actually starting.

 

When I sailed SUMMIT last month The Bar At The Edge had an

excellent band in the evenings and LOTS and LOTS of passengers

dancing. It looked like everyone was having a really good time

to me.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lois, it's absolutely a great spot! I just didn't like the Cirque decor. From the scuttlebutt I heard they're not quite sure what to do with Cirque. John told us it was not a hit. But I'm sure they want to salvage it in some way and making it a show might be the way to go.

[Lois R]

Heather, didn't you say that 2006 Connie Cruise was on Dec 8th?

Your signature says 12-5...just wondered which day do you really

sail?;) :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

You're right, Lois, I'm just a dingaling:o . It's 12/8 which is why we may cancel after all:( ... so close to Christmas . It was the only itinerary I liked that was 10 or more days. I've now found a Volendam cruise on 11/13 that would be perfect because it bumps into Thanksgiving (returns Wednesday). And they split the sea days up more than the Constellation cruise (with 2 sea days on either end and all the ports in the middle).

 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I did always feel that HAL is a close 2nd and this would be a good way to test the longer cruise. We just may book both and decide later. I don't want to miss out on a nice AA cabin.

[Lois R]

Ohhh, ok you fixed it;)

 

That is one thing that makes no difference to me (sailing

around the holidays). I don't celebrate anything so being on ship

is fine with me:)

 

Actually I have a deposit down for the Millie on Dec 17, 2006. It

returns on the 24th.....and since we are off work I won't even

use all my vacation time:D

[makethegrade]

Just for the record... we DID invite Heather and Ray... not only for happy hour but also to dinner... (I have the pics to prove it too)

 

Actually, the dinner at the Normandie together (along with Linda and Charlie) was a highlight of the cruise for me...

[makethegrade]

Steve, maybe we just didn't move around in the bed that much:o , but we had no problem with the bed separating.:D That's all I'll say on that;)

 

it was either us or the 'motion of the ocean"... :eek:

[makethegrade]

One final thought... I fully agree

1. the name bar on the edge of the earth is WAY to long.

2. the curtains obstruct what would otherwise be a great view during the day (but I think add to the... ah... ambience... after sunset.

3. they should either change the name back to revelations, or change the signs around the ship.

[mechcc]

Heather and Steve - Fantastic reviews! We've booked the opposite trip on the Summit for Apr 07 (early booking prices are good but after these reviews the prices will probably go up!). We've done HAL and RCCL and were wondering if X would stack up to our expectations of a great cruise. Sounds like our expectations will be more then met. Your shore excursion expierences are very enlightning. One question - if we are going the opposite way through the locks, will we still be able to enjoy the engineering feat that you did by going from west to east?

 

Thank you again for your reviews!

[makethegrade]

You would have the same basic experience of the locks either way, you would just do them in a different order.

East to West there are one major lock (Gutan) then the lake, then the cut, then the other 2 locks (migeul pedro and the other on which I am blanking on the name).

You rise up the first ones no matter which way you go in and lower on the 2nd ones.... It's all very interesting.

 

One comment. We did not do a shorex at the canal. The ship got behind schedule (due to the panamians according to the ship)... and the exc were 2 hours late leaving at 330 (instead of 130 or something). It got dark at 530 so people missed most fo the tours. Also, there was a LOT Of confusion about how to reboard the ship at the pier.

 

My suggestion would be to not bother with any shorex in the canal and just make the ship and the canal your excursion so to speak.

[cruznon]

Heather,

Wow! I loved your review. We take our first Celebrity cruise next month--the Galaxy(partial Panama Canal transit.) So thrilled you had a wonderful time. I'm really excited about experiencing Celebrity and our first longer cruise--12 days. (7 sea days:) )

You confirmed my desire to do the rainforest canopy excursion, but I think we'll do it in Costa Rica.

 

Welcome home.

[mechcc]

You would have the same basic experience of the locks either way, you would just do them in a different order.

East to West there are one major lock (Gutan) then the lake, then the cut, then the other 2 locks (migeul pedro and the other on which I am blanking on the name).

You rise up the first ones no matter which way you go in and lower on the 2nd ones.... It's all very interesting.

 

One comment. We did not do a shorex at the canal. The ship got behind schedule (due to the panamians according to the ship)... and the exc were 2 hours late leaving at 330 (instead of 130 or something). It got dark at 530 so people missed most fo the tours. Also, there was a LOT Of confusion about how to reboard the ship at the pier.

 

My suggestion would be to not bother with any shorex in the canal and just make the ship and the canal your excursion so to speak.

 

Thank you for your answer. There is no way we are doing a shorex at the canal. The whole purpose of this cruise is to fulfill a childhood dream of going through the canal. Miss it for a shore excursion? No Way!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Just for the record... we DID invite Heather and Ray... not only for happy hour but also to dinner... (I have the pics to prove it too)

 

Actually, the dinner at the Normandie together (along with Linda and Charlie) was a highlight of the cruise for me...

 

You're half right!!! You absolutely did invite us to the Normandie for dinner and it was a highlight for us too. No question ... especially since we would not have had the fun of dinner with you otherwise, but also because we wouldn't have even bothered with the Normandie if you hadn't enticed us. So thank you:) .

 

But you did NOT invite us for Happy Hour on your sunset verandah! Uh uh!:( But I seriously was teasing you about it. We don't drink (as you know) so Happy Hour is very short for us:D .

 

Maggie, I would have loved to join you and Hermon on your journey the other way! (I think it was the other thread you invited me:p ). In fact I tried to get Ray to do it again and he said no way. My take on the locks is it doesn't matter which way you go ... it's an awesome experience. The main difference is that if another ship is going through it's kind of fun to see. For your cruise, that ship would be on the port side. It's fun when they lower that ship first and you're looking down on it.

 

I agree that the first time through the Canal should be without a tour. The 3rd set of locks, at the mouth of the Pacific, are the Milaflores. The entire day is so exciting ... I honestly felt like a little kid again especially armed with all the history I had read before going. So have a fantastic time!!!

[TechKnowBabble]

thanks for the excellent information. I didn't want to miss a thing going through the Panama Canal...I think we'll just leave the balcony to go to the restroom LOL We definitely won't be doing an excursion there as, the main reason we are taking this cruise is for the Canal experience and we made sure we had a balcony/veranda to 'take it all in'

[tropicalsunset]

Heather, welcome back... great review!!! I wish I could have been there!!! Glad all of you had an incredible trip!! but I knew you would!!!:cool:

 

Lorraine

[charlielinda]

I started on my review today so . . . maybe a week from now I'll have it finished!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thanks, Tropical! I wish you could have been there too. We were so lucky to meet such a great group.

 

Linda, I can't wait to read it!:D

[signman]

Steve and Heather, great reviews, Thanks. They made me feel like I was there with you.

 

Steve, It seems a little background on the "bead" thing might be in order, lest anyone think I really am a buffoon.

 

Going through the Gatun Locks with Summit right next to Radiance was just icing on the cake for a great experience. The fact that it was raining pretty hard at the time and everyone had ducked inside, was not going to keep me from enjoying this once in a lifetime experience. So I went to my cabin for my umbrella. Fortunately I had brought one, as unlike Celebrity, RCCL does not provide them in the cabins for passenger use. So as I'm taking the umbrella out of the cupboard, I noticed the beads that I had acquired in the Casino a few nights earlier sitting there, and thought, Let's have a little fun with the neighbors on Summit. Now I could profess that this was done to show my support for the rebuilding effort and solidarity with the people of New Orleans, but in fact it was inspired by something that had happened a few days earlier in Hualtulco.

 

As we were sailing away (Radiance left first) some gals standing next to me noticed a fairly nice looking fellow and his wife standing on their Summit balcony. He must have just come from the shower, as he was wearing only a towel around his waist. Well these ladies started chanting, "Drop the towel, drop the towel" and damned if he didn't let it go slack and expose the "goodies" just for a split second. So my perception was that the Summit was a pretty hip fun loving bunch, and what you do on your balcony, stays on your balcony. And part of the fun of a cruise is doing things you wouldn't be caught dead doing at home in front of people you actually know. How else to explain one of the gents in our CC group appearing on stage during Quest dressed in a thong.

 

Anyhow, I want to thank you again for playing mailman, and helping to get some of us together in Aruba.

 

On a sad note..... There never were any takers for the bead offering.