Live (?) from the Celebrity Summit 4-26-23 sailing Miami to Cape Liberty

[StartrainDD]

Apologies to Glen, somehow his name became "Greg" in my prior update.  SORRY!

 

Wednesday, May 3, 2023 – At Sea #4, Atlantic Ocean north of the Dominican Republic.

 

We woke at about 7:00 and I went down to El Bacio for the morning beverages, which they knew.  There was no wait as few were out this early.  We enjoyed the beverages in our cabin and decided on a very slow morning.  I brought the log up to date.

 

We had wanted to go to the dining room but were too late as they closed at 9:00.  So up to the Oceanview for a later breakfast.  I tried two of the ‘biscuits’ that I’ve been seeing but they were not the best (rather dry).  After breakfast we stopped back at El Bacio.  We found our room steward Esther to ask about some disinfectant wipes as our walking shoes get very dirty in Curacao.  We never did receive any until we asked again the following day.

 

We went up to the Sky Lounge for the archery competition and DW made it to the finals.  In the end, the four who were tied after the finals all received a little prize.  Abby found us in the Sky Lounge and we stopped by the pool bar to see Zin.  Zin made our beverages and we sat and talked with him a short while.  Glen found us and we all went to the Cosmopolitan for lunch.  Lunch was nice with enjoyable food selections.  Perhaps because we brought in some beverages, but we were never asked if we would like wine or anything other than water.  By the time I realized it we were nearly done with our entrees so we just let the wine go.

 

We agreed to meet up in the Oceanview to play Catan 30 minutes later.  We set up the game and had a good game.  The volcanoes were active however and likely made the difference in the outcome as both of the ladies lost their volcano settlements early in the game.  The next time I will try a very different set up for the game.

 

After Catan we changed for the evening.  The casino bar doesn’t have any of the wines DW likes, so we visited Cellar Masters and took our beverages with us as we went to try our luck in the casino.  We started with $120 in OBC chips and despite the first roll being a loss, ended the play with $156.  Making up some ground we are now just $14 down for the cruise.  We still have another $120 in OBC to use on the remaining days.

 

We stopped back in the cabin and visited Cellar Masters before dinner.  JV was there and saw DW’s empty glass and filled it right away.  We were sitting and the folks at our neighboring table came by and we invited them to join us.  We had a nice conversation until the dining room doors opened and we went to dinner.

 

The Almond Crusted Hake was a winner at dinner.  DW’s order was confused and needed to be sent back.  When the correct duck order came she enjoyed it but it was small.  We were still finished in time for the 7:00 show, “The Crooner” Les Lankhorst.  We enjoyed his show.  Les played Frank Sinatra in the Las Vegas production of “The Rat Pack is Back.”  Les performed several Sinatra classics as well as Elvis, Willie Nelson, and a few others.

 

After the show DW was hungry so we went up to the Oceanview to look around.  We sat out back by the Sunset Bar and while it was humid (and perhaps just a bit foggy) it was so pleasant sitting there.  We had a nice conversation with Lawrence, one of the crew that keeps the aft deck ship-shape.  We couldn’t find Jay on the program this evening so perhaps he had the night off.

 

At this time, we called it a night.  The navigation channel shows we are directly east of Miami heading north-northwest towards Cape Liberty.  We are beginning to feel some swells for the first time this cruise.

[SSFrance69]

Has the hot tub situation improved? I hope you were able to report the issues and that they've been repaired. Enjoy your cruise and thank you for posting. I sail her in July and the pool in the solarium is my favorite place, so I hope they get it working better soon. 

[bjworm]

2 hours ago, SSFrance69 said:

Has the hot tub situation improved? I hope you were able to report the issues and that they've been repaired. Enjoy your cruise and thank you for posting. I sail her in July and the pool in the solarium is my favorite place, so I hope they get it working better soon. 

Amen! The wife and I really enjoy the hot tubs and the Solarium pool as well. As you said, we really hope they fix any issues for when our June sailing happens. This has been a great series of posts and a multitude of thanks to the OP ! 👍

[CaribbeanBound]

Have been enjoying your travelog.  Thank you for posting.

[HS2BS]

Hot tubs are changed to whirlpools with Luke warm water both in the solarium and by the outdoor pools. Even changed the signs! (Sorry it loaded upside down) - Hal

[StartrainDD]

14 hours ago, SSFrance69 said:

Has the hot tub situation improved? I hope you were able to report the issues and that they've been repaired. Enjoy your cruise and thank you for posting. I sail her in July and the pool in the solarium is my favorite place, so I hope they get it working better soon. 

 

11 hours ago, bjworm said:

Amen! The wife and I really enjoy the hot tubs and the Solarium pool as well. As you said, we really hope they fix any issues for when our June sailing happens. This has been a great series of posts and a multitude of thanks to the OP ! 👍

The "Whirlpool" on the starboard side of the solarium has a little more jet action than the port side.  We find them warm enough.  We talked with someone in the whirlpool who was on the Summit last August and they said it's been that way since then, so I imagine "It is what it is."  They sure worked properly on the Constellation in March however...

[StartrainDD]

Thursday, May 4, 2023, Sea Day #5; “Star Wars Day” (May the FOURTH by with you)

 

Angela and Dave wished us a happy Star Wars Day during the morning show this morning.  We woke around 7:00 and I made the normal visit to El Bacio.  We are now nearly due east of Jacksonville, and the temperature is down to 72 degrees (very pleasant) with a beautiful sunny blue sky.

 

We made it to the Cosmopolitan just before they were closing the doors.  Breakfast was nice.  We sat next to a talkative couple from Canada, who didn’t seem to appreciate their government and made no hiding of that fact.  After breakfast we had some business to attend to.  We stopped at the captain’s club desk as DW’s account is very confused.  They think her middle name is “Mary” and she is getting mail for one of the friends we have traveled with in March.

 

It turns out that the Captain’s Club has two accounts for her.  Host Candy said she would get it fixed but it will all take a few hours.  We will likely see her later at the Senior Officer’s party.  Then we stopped at future cruises to drop off a future cruise deposit form for two future cruises.  Another round was due at El Bacio and Claude saw us coming and took care of us right away.  We agreed with our friends to meet to play Splendor at 11:30.  We walked up to the pool deck as I wanted to see the pool now that we were really feeling the ‘motion of the ocean.’

 

The main pool was splashing a lot and at times sending spray out over the folks sunning in between the pools, and at the Mast bar end, the spray was reaching up over ten feet above the pool.  I took a few photos and video.  We walked around the Oceanview and returned to our cabin to obtain the game.

 

Back in the Oceanview, we found the same round table we used the prior day and began setting up Splendor.  Soon enough our friends arrived and we played two rounds.  I had noticed that roast turkey was the carving feature of the day, and we both had a nice turkey lunch.  We returned the game to the cabin and decided to see what was happening in the casino.

 

As is the norm, one roulette table was open and not the norm, three guys were playing.  The numbers looked promising however so I obtained the last $120 of non-refundable OBC in chips and we proceeded to play.  Like yesterday, we lost on the first spin, but things improved from there.  We ended our time with $126 from our starting $120.  So now we are $8 down on the cruise, which is very acceptable.

 

After the casino we stopped at Cellar Masters for a wine and beverage and returned to our cabin.  Tonight is the second “Chic night” of the cruise so that means a little extra time is needed to get ready for the evening.  I noticed on the navigation channel that the Summit is now (4:00 PM) just north of Jacksonville, FL with 650 nautical miles to go to Cape Liberty.  The outdoor temperature is down to 68 degrees, so I suppose tomorrow will be a long pants day.

 

We had an invite to the Senior Officers Party at 5:30.  We discussed this with Robert our waiter and he told us as long as we get to the dining room by 6:30 we will be okay for dinner.  We had some time, so we visited the Rendezvous where the party band was playing & quite a few folks were dancing.  At 5:15 we headed up to the Sky Lounge and found a nice table for the Senior Officers Party.  The quartet was playing and some were dancing.  Waiters came around with hors d'oeuvres and a good selection of beverages.  At about 5:45 Angela introduced the captain who said a few words and brought the senior officers onto the stage area.  That was about it and the senior staff left.  We stayed visiting with our friends until about 6:10 and headed to dinner.

 

Ronald, Mayra, and JV were waiting for us, and we enjoyed the lobster tail dinner.  I also had the Haddock which was very nice.  DW had a lamb “T-bone” and found it wasn’t the best.  Ronald told her the one side was much better and she seemed to enjoy that.  We were in the dining room until about 7:30 and will be back the next night for the final dinner of the cruise.

 

We listened to Jay for a while in Cellar Masters.  He is very good at encouraging folks to sing along.  We then went down to the Rendezvous hoping to meet our friends for the dance band.  They were delayed on phone calls dealing with family matters, but we did see them for a few minutes before we headed to the 9:00 show.  On the way into the show, champagne, mixed champagne drinks, or orange juice was offered to everyone.  That was a nice, unexpected touch.

 

The show was the Summit cast in “Soundtrack,” which was billed as all-time movie hits.  We only recognized a few, despite believing we are fairly well versed in major movies.  Additionally, we couldn’t understand most of the vocals, as the keyboards and bass guitar were simply too loud for the voices.  It was a shame as the cast work so hard and seem to be talented.  We did appreciate the aerialists and can only imagine how much time they spend in the gym to have the strength to do what they do.

 

After the show the evening was not yet complete.  Finally the casino had a slot free play offer, $5 for everyone from 10:00 PM to midnight.  We met up with Abby and went to the same machine the group used for the slot pull.  That was in use, but the one next to it was free.  So we signed in DW’s card and put the $5 into the machine.  Using just $.20  bets DW won a few nickels, and a few quarters, and when the account was down to less than $1 it hit a $12 and change win.  She immediately cashed out with $12.95.

 

We moved two machines down and I played my $5.  Again, a few nickels and quarters with a minimum bet of $.35, but no hits of any consequence.  My account was down to $.30 so I cashed it out.  Stopping at the cashier we received $13.25 so we are now officially AHEAD for the cruise at the casino by $5.25.  Seems like a good time to stop.

 

Along with Abby we walked over to Cellar Masters for a nightcap.  We talked until nearly 11:30 (very late for us) and agreed on a final Catan game the following afternoon.  As Abby said, “Considering we don’t dine together, we spend a lot of time together.”  It’s really nice making friends on cruises.

[StartrainDD]

Friday, May 5, 2023; At sea #6, the North Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to New Jersey

 

After staying up so late we slept until about 7:30.  I went down to El Bacio and Claude saw me coming.  The group in El Bacio is terrific.  When we returned to our cabin last night our laundry had been delivered so we put all that away.  Most by just having it ready to pack, nicely folded by Celebrity.

 

We enjoyed an Oceanview breakfast and then visited El Bacio for another round of better coffee.  Passing the doors to the outside deck it sure did get ‘cold’ outdoors, with temperatures now 61 degrees.  We ran into our friend who had come from the casino.  She still has OBC to burn and does it slowly on the slots, often losing a little and every now and then coming out a bit ahead.  We chatted for a while about family matters and confirmed we would meet at 2:30 for a final round of Catan.

 

We perused the “Clearance” sales in the shops, and like most recent cruises found nothing to procure.  We walked the lido deck looking for Zin, but he was not at the pool bar.  The two guys who were there looked cold.  We quickly made our way back to the Oceanview where we played Splendor for two for a couple of rounds.

 

The Oceanview was having their “Extravaganza” today and they did do it up right.  There was a chocolate fountain with skewers of fruit, marshmallows, and mini munchkins.  All kinds of nice cakes were also available.  The carving station had three items, roasted Turkey, Roast Beef, and Roasted Lamb.  It was a terrific lunch.  Our friends came up to see the lunch but still went to Luminae.

 

We played the last game of Catan for the cruise and DW was victorious.  Several crew and guests stopped by to ask about the game.  After the game one of our friends still had their ‘match plays’ to use in the casino and unfortunately he lost all three tries.  ☹  Having ended the prior day just ahead for the cruise, we did not make any casino donations this day.  We did watch one of our friends playing a bit on two of her favorite slots.  We still really don’t understand the slot machines.  I can understand the table games, but the slots are just entirely random.

 

We returned to our cabin to begin packing.  The process went very fast and we were soon done.  We went down to the Rendezvous lounge to listen to the dance band.  Although we were there for 25 minutes, no bar server ever came over.  Elite and above who do not have a beverage package really pack the bars at 5:00.  We found on our last cruise (no beverage package) that the casino bar was a ‘better bet’ (pun intended) for the Elite happy hour.

 

Dinner was terrific with DW enjoying the Drum fish and I enjoyed the spareribs.  JV kept our wine glasses filled but I had to make sure to empty mine at one point so I could tell him that I “Finally emptied my glass” for him.  He got a good laugh from that.  We said our farewells to our wait team and everyone in the dining room said they hope to see us again.  Robert said he talked with one of the other servers who remembered us from last June, so he knew we sail the Summit from time to time.

 

After dinner we went to the 7:00 show.  Evan, the server at the portable bar, had DW’s ‘special wine’ ready.  He has taken great care of DW’s wine needs the last five evenings at the show.  The show was a second performance of “December ’63.”  This show was not as good as the first one, but it was still enjoyable.  They said they are staying on for the first part of the next cruise, so they will be happy to perform to a full theater as the next sailing is sold out.

 

We visited the Rendezvous for the last time to meet our friends.  We had a nice conversation in between their dances.  Finally it was time for them to go to dinner and for us to finish packing, so we said our “Farewell until we see you again.”  We stopped at Cellar Masters for one last beverage and then returned to our cabin to finish packing.  We put out the two large suitcases for delivery to the terminal in the morning.

[StartrainDD]

Saturday, May 6, 2023; Cape Liberty, NJ – Disembarkation

 

The alarm was set for 6:00.  I was a little surprised that we had not yet entered the harbor.  I went down to El Bacio for the last set of beverages.  We were approaching the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, so I went up to deck 11 to take a few photos.  We left the cabin for the last time a little after 7:00 and went to the Oceanview for breakfast.  We watched the longshoremen tying up the ship while there, and then headed to the Tuscan Grill embarkation lounge to wait for our disembarkation.  We are in the second independent group with an estimated 8:55 time, which should work well for our 10:00 Avis reservation.

 

The first group of luggage tags called included our #24.  Getting out was so quick and easy, just a photo was taken and out the door.  Calling Uber/Lyft was an issue.  Both kept saying “Looking for a driver…”  After 15 minutes or so we gave up and reluctantly went to the taxi line.  We were quoted $75 plus $5 tolls, $80 total.  What a complete rip-off, but, okay…

 

The driver gets us to Avis at EWR, and I hand him the $80.  He says the charge is $84 as it’s $75 plus tolls and the toll is $9.00.  While I haven’t driven the NJ turnpike in a while I know that is a lie.  Later I looked and exit 14B to exit 14 during peak hours with EZPass is $3.08 according to the NJ turnpike website.  I found another $5 and then he asked for a tip.  Well, sorry, but no.

 

Avis gave us a very nice upgrade to a Lexus, but that sporty sedan was not going to work, so we ended up with a Mitsubishi Outlander.  There was quite a line to exit (as the express exit lane was blocked) and we were on the road at about 10:20.

 

Thus ends the cruise report.

 

Summary & Conclusion:

 

This was another very nice Celebrity cruise.  It was certainly nice being on a ship at about 60% capacity.  That alone makes a good argument to repeat this cruise in the future, as it seems it would rarely be filled.

 

A few things I haven’t really talked about that I think Celebrity can do better.  One is smoking.  Celebrity is pretty restrictive about smoking, which is terrific for us.  However, the two major smoking areas are both in spots where folks need to pass by or through all the time.  I don’t really have a suggestion on how to relocate the deck 10 smoking area, but the deck 4 area is right next to the doors, and a lot of that smoke comes into the hallways around the glass elevators and into the starboard side of the Rendezvous.  This was strong enough that it made us relocate in the Rendezvous more than once during the cruise.  If the smoking area was moved further from the doors, this wouldn’t happen.

 

Entertainment on this cruise was generally terrific.  I love that Celebrity stays committed to live music in all the venues and in the showroom.  The best of the evening shows was Emily Koch, followed by December ’63.  I love the fact that Celebrity employs at least eleven young artists for their cast, but they need better things to perform and Celebrity needs to better balance the vocals and instruments.

 

 Our stateroom was functional but had less storage than our room on the Constellation.  I’m not sure the ‘upgrades’ done just before the pandemic were all that effective.  We certainly did appreciate all the USB charging ports.

 

On the evening before disembarkation, I received a Celebrity marketing e-mail for this summer’s Alaska cruises.  Well, sure, I would be willing to go to Alaska again.  We would even be willing to do a B2B.  A quick check shows that the airfare would be more than double the cruise cost, and that is in economy.  Sorry, Celebrity, we won’t be making that trip, as much as we would love to.  The same issue (airfare) is keeping us from a Europe trip this summer.

 

Special crew members who really made our cruise special include our dining room wait staff of Ronald, Mayra, and JV.  Zin at the pool bar, Claude at Café El Bacio, and Evan at the showroom entrance all gave us outstanding service.

 

The lack of pool maintenance on the hot tubs and T-pool is very disturbing to us.  That seems like it shouldn’t be a big deal and if they’ve really been in that situation since last August that is rather sad.  We did not find dining to be diminished despite all the cruise critic reports.  Perhaps some of the early year cuts were reversed.  Service in most venues was terrific but there are times when it is hard to get service in the Oceanview and in the Rendezvous.

 

The final rating on my scale up to 5 stars would be 4 stars.