Live From the Summit, 8/7 to 8/31, from an Aqua passenger viewpoint

[Ken the cruiser]

As they say, no testing results after 9 hours means we passed. Yes! So 12 more days of cruising, here we come!! 😁 😁

[jcpc]

On 8/15/2022 at 8:22 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

This evening we finished up by going to watch the Liar’s Club, which if you have never been to one before and you love to laugh, this late night show is a must!! It’s a simple game. You just need to determine, by applause, who provided a truthful definition of the word in question.

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

Interesting.......I was onboard Summit in mid-July and these are the exact same words they used for Liar's Club that week.  I wonder how often they repeat the same words???  Hopefully they use new words for your next sailing.

 

I'm loving your review and pictures.  Thanks so much for doing this.

[Ken the cruiser]

Had a chilly time on our whale watching adventure today, but we did see 2 whales! Unfortunately, they were pretty quick and only got a picture of a fin on one of them. But I did get plenty of pictures of the Iceland Gull! You know me, it’s all about the wildlife and beautiful scenary! 😂

 

Altogether, we were on the boat for about 4 hours of which a little over 3.5 hours of it were cruising to the mouth of the inlet and back in breezy 45 degree weather. Needless to say we got plenty of pictures, but whale watching up in the far north is pretty much a one and done for us now. What’s that saying “Been there, done that, but didn’t buy the t-shirt! 😂😂

 

 

 

We had a full ship. Luckily we walked fast on our 15 minute walk over to the boat and were able to get two seats facing aft, which for most of the time we were able to stay out of the wind. However, on the way back, my DW found a warm spot in front of the exhaust vent, so we moved in front of it for awhile. Then it looked like it was going to rain the last 30 minutes of the ride back to the ship, so we headed down stairs to get undercover, which by the way was also heated!! 😁

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure what was attracting the, but I’m sure it was tasty! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The elusive whale fin that almost got away! 😂

 

 

 

 

 
Did I mention I was able to get some pictures of the Iceland Gull! 😂

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

After another tasty dinner in Blu, we were off to see a saxophone player, Tommy Proulx.

  

  
Then we were off to the Rendezvous Lounge to watch Living Room Games, which we have never seen before.

 

Putting ping pong balls in a bowl using chop sticks!

 

 
Flicking the middle cup out so the top cup falls on the bottom cup.

 

 
And finally throwing or bouncing ping pong balls into cups.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 12 - Aug 18 - Isafjordur, Iceland

  

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

And we’re off to Isafjordur, Iceland. First, the Island Princess to leave as they got here earlier in the day, then it was our turn.

  

 

 

[jwlane]

1 hour ago, jcpc said:

I wonder how often they repeat the same words??? 

Every sailing.  SPOILER ALERT!!!  (pulling back the curtain)  Liar's Club is a well rehearsed, scripted production.

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

Ken, please let me know whether to choose port or starboard for the Reykjavik to Boston route, thanks!

Planning ahead for 2024. There will be a group of us and my current thinking is to book OV cabins toward the stern of deck 3 on both sides of the ship so we can visit each other depending on views. Would prefer veranda cabins if pricing not too far above the OVs- have you made much use of your veranda?

Yes, I pretty much live on our balcony during the downtimes. If necessary, I’ll put a coat on as I love being outside, especially on this type of cruise where there is so much nature and beautiful scenery to see! 
 

But since you asked for my recommendation, I would book balcony cabins, on either side, as soon as the cruise becomes available to book. That’s when the prices are usually the cheapest for “boutique” cruises like this one. That’s what we did and saved about $2000 in price increases over the 18 months we had it booked.
 

But there’s just something about having your own balcony, even when you’re cruising with a group. Also, if you book them as soon as then become available, your group should be able to book the cabins next to each other I would think. 

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, vjmatty said:

Hi Ken.... still loving this thread! Would you kindly let me know at your convenience whether you are finding Aqua worth the upcharge, other than the cabin location?  I have us booked on Infinity for a Holy Land/Egypt sailing out of Athens in 2024, and we already are in a Sunset Veranda, so it looks like the only improvement would be Blu... and there are no aft AQ cabins available.  Thanks!

I’m sure you looked at the other perks that come with an Aqua cabin, such as Jasmine Gardens and the Spa, with their steam rooms, etc. We also like the Aqua cabins because of their walk-in showers. Sometimes those tubs can be kind of a pain to get in and out of. But, yes, we really enjoy the “anytime dining” aspect of Blu as well as the minimal amount of heartburn we get from eating their dishes. 
 

Now if you were to have said you had a Sunset Veranda on an Edge Class ship, I would have recommended keeping it as they have 4 MDRs to choose from, and they were all “anytime dining” when we cruised on the Apex back in November in a SV. 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, jcpc said:

Interesting.......I was onboard Summit in mid-July and these are the exact same words they used for Liar's Club that week.  I wonder how often they repeat the same words???  Hopefully they use new words for your next sailing.

 

I'm loving your review and pictures.  Thanks so much for doing this.

I’ll let you know! But they pretty much have used most of those words as well on the Constellation, Apex and Edge cruises we’ve been on these past 12 months. I think it’s more about the hilarious answers the guest participants come up with that makes the show, especially since it has been declared as an adults-only late night show where some of the answers can get quite cheeky. 😂

[Ken the cruiser]

38 minutes ago, jwlane said:

Every sailing.  SPOILER ALERT!!!  (pulling back the curtain)  Liar's Club is a well rehearsed, scripted production.

To be honest, that’s OK, especially if the participants perform their roles impeccably and make everyone laugh. But, they did have a financial officer as one of the participants who supposedly had only 30 minutes warning that he was to be part of the show, and he totally choked. But he also said this was his last cruise. So we’ll see if a new person shows up on the next leg or he plays the same role again. 😁

 

[Notalotofinfo]

Thanks for posting we are enjoying this thread. I was Reading the daily and I didn’t realize that they sold watches on a cruise ship. 

[vjmatty]

44 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I’m sure you looked at the other perks that come with an Aqua cabin, such as Jasmine Gardens and the Spa, with their steam rooms, etc. We also like the Aqua cabins because of their walk-in showers. Sometimes those tubs can be kind of a pain to get in and out of. But, yes, we really enjoy the “anytime dining” aspect of Blu as well as the minimal amount of heartburn we get from eating their dishes. 
 

Now if you were to have said you had a Sunset Veranda on an Edge Class ship, I would have recommended keeping it as they have 4 MDRs to choose from, and they were all “anytime dining” when we cruised on the Apex back in November in a SV. 😁

Ah yes I forgot to mention that we don’t really use the spa except if there’s a thermal suite package which we haven’t tried on X. Still if Blu is that much of a healthier improvement as we have dietary issues…. I’m a vegetarian and hubby is allergic to fructose and lactose….that itself may be worth it.

 

And agree on Edge it would be no question, in addition to the reasons you raised, AQ are all infinite verandas which I’m not interested in. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Just got this from our SIL who will be flying into Reykjavik tomorrow morning with my DW’s brother who will both be joining us on the next leg! Could we see the Northern Lights the next couple of evenings? Hopefully the sky will be clear both nights! 😁
 

 

 

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g1-g3-watches-17-19-august-2022

 

[Ken the cruiser]

19 minutes ago, Notalotofinfo said:

Thanks for posting we are enjoying this thread. I was Reading the daily and I didn’t realize that they sold watches on a cruise ship. 

Yup. In fact my DW bought a watch years ago using extra OBC on a cruise ship that she still wears when we’re on a cruise!

[Notalotofinfo]

That was a bad joke!

[BeeMinor]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Could we see the Northern Lights the next couple of evenings? Hopefully the sky will be clear both nights!

 

Is it getting fully dark? We were there in July and it never got much beyond "sort of dusk-ish" so no chance but seeing the Northern Lights would be phenomenal!

 

Sorry you had such bad weather to be out whale watching. We lucked into a beautiful clear 80 degree (really!) day when we did a similar whale watching cruise out of Husavik, just around the bend from Akureyri. So don't give up hope! Wishing you great weather and many photo opportunities in the Westfjords!

[takemewithyou]

I wonder who the CD will be when Rich leaves.

Does anyone know if Alejandro is still a CD?  
I think years ago he used to be on Summit. 

[wrk2cruise]

Generally the number of covid cases is not that "small" when they go to full mask indoors policy.

[Norwaylady]

6 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

I wonder who the CD will be when Rich leaves.

Does anyone know if Alejandro is still a CD?  
I think years ago he used to be on Summit. 

I have a feeling it will be Damian from Canada…… he posted a picture on IG from Summit☺️ 
So either his on private holiday or he is going to send Rick on holiday😎

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in Isafjordur, Iceland, and we have company once again. Today we take a tender ashore and then it’s onto a boat ride to Vigur Island to see stuff! 😁

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

Generally the number of covid cases is not that "small" when they go to full mask indoors policy.

We just asked our steward and there are no quarantined Aqua cabins on deck 11 aft. But on occasion, maybe once or twice, we have seen full trays of dishes outside a cabin as we walk in the evening from one end of the ship to the other through the hallways on decks 7 and 9. But that’s not saying much though. Hopefully, most of those positive cases will be getting off at Reykjavik and mask wearing goes back to “highly encouraged”.
 

I don’t mind wearing a mask in congested areas, like the theater and Rendezvous Lounge to name a couple of areas we attend. But climbing up 7 flights of stairs or walking in deserted hallways, I’d like to take it off. But being a good “retired” airman, I’ll follow the rules like most folks are doing. 😁

Edited August 18, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Norwaylady]

31 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

I don’t mind wearing a mask in congested areas, like the theater and Rendezvous Lounge to name a couple of areas we attend. But climbing up 7 flights of stairs or walking in deserted hallways, I’d like to take it off. But being a good “retired” airman, I’ll follow the rules like most folks are doing. 😁

😂  I totally get you on this one😂 

[lexmiller]

16 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

I wonder who the CD will be when Rich leaves.

Does anyone know if Alejandro is still a CD?  
I think years ago he used to be on Summit. 

Haha, I am sure you saw my post on Jim and Iain's live thread!  Alejandro is on the Apex now.  He was on the Millennium in June with us in Alaska.  He was going on vacation and was hoping to be assigned to the Infinity, because of her South American itineraries as he would have been able to bring his family on board.  But at least for now, he is on the Apex.  I don't know who will replace Rich.  We board the Summit on Aug 31, and will leave with Rich on Sept 11.  We have never cruised with Rich so we are looking forward to it.  

[Jim_Iain]

On 8/16/2022 at 8:55 PM, jwlane said:

Try this....  https://www.instagram.com/p/ChTCf8EouxB/

 

Looks like the stuff after "/?utm" is the problem.

 

Your first link worked perfectly for me on a Win11 machine.