Summit 1/31 Cruise Review

[glenr]

First, take this review with a grain of salt as this was our first cruise, so nothing to compare it to. We are well travelled however and know a good or a bad time when we see it.

 

We arrived in San Juan around 11:00 am and were met by the Celebrity people at the airport. We waited a bit for the transfers to the ship and arrived around 12:30 or 1:00. We boarded quickly. The ship seemed in very nice shape, and our Sky Suite was in perfect order and roomy. We were two cabins from the elevator on Deck 8 and I was concerned about possible noise. There was none, and I am a light sleeper. The ship didn't sail until 11:00 pm so we had plenty of time to explore and get the layout of the ship.

 

Muster was late, around 10:15, which was inconvenient.

 

I found the staff very helpful and friendly, but didn't find the need to use the butler for much. We had dinner mainly in Normandie, the specialty restaurant. The food and wine there were mostly very good, with the exception of the duck. The dover sole was excellent. The staff in that room know what they are doing. When they were out of the wine we wanted ($69.) they offered us another bottle ($180) at the same price. That was classy. Plan on minimum 2 hours for dinner there.

 

Muster was late, around 10:15, which was inconvenient.

 

At St. Maarten we booked the Capt. Morgan Sailing Adventure. This is a sailboat, not a catamaran. Serge, the captain, was very colorful and took us up the coast to Bai Longue sp? We snorkeled off the La Semana resort (nice water, no fish) and then went back on the boat for rum punch (not so great) and lunch (pretty good-bbq ribs and mac pie.) I think most people would enjoy this trip.

 

On Dominica we hired a car with driver for most of the day ($100). Do not go to the "black sand beach" nearest the port. It's a dive. Go up the coast another half hour to another black sand beach. Thats a nice one and there is a couple who will rent chairs ($2.00) and umbrellas. They also sell beer and presumably other drinks. Bring your beach towels from the ship. We then drove up into the mountains, past the plantations, to Mr. Nice's fruit stand. This is a must. It's hard to explain, just go. Also went to Emerald Pool, then back to the ship.

 

On Grenada we booked the "Shadowfax Champage Lobster cruise". This was the best and I would do it again in a minute. Nice sized and comfortable catamaran takes you around the harbor/marina, then out around the south end of the island. The wind kicked up, the sails were out, and we were flying. The rum punch here was first class. They beached the catamaran at a remote sandy beach that had picnic tables and palm trees for shade, then served the most amazing lobster and mac pie lunch. My lobster was huge. This trip was about 6 hours and we didn't want it to end.

 

For Barbados, having never been there either, we took a private car and driver from Johnson's Tours. They have been in business since the 1930's. Our driver took us up the east coast (Caribbean side) which we thought was great until we saw the west coast (Atlantic), which was amazing. I will not have to go to Hawaii again after this. Toured several great old churches and had lunch at a place called the Round House sitting on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Flying Fish was excellent.

 

I think in general the buffet food and poolside food was good with the exception of the poolside cheeseburger. That was basically a piece of cold cheese put on a luke warm burger and then handed over to you. Don't mean to be overly critical as the overall time was very nice. The Thallosotherapy pool was very nice as well, although the crowd tended to be older. (We're 52 and trust me, it was older). Not to many kids running around on the ship and those that were there were pretty well behaved.

 

Feedback on the MDR from friends we made on the ship was that it was "ok", not great. Other than that, I can't comment. We liked getting our breakfast in the morning (great waffles) and eating out on the Aft Bar area.

 

We did not attend any shows, but stopped in the theatre the night of the Super Bowl. The crowd was having a great time. There was nice music most evenings in either the Champagne or Martini bar, I forget which (for obvious reasons).

 

Not having cruised before, we didn't know if we would love it or hate it. I would say we like it a lot and are considering a cruise in the Med by Azamara, Windstar, Oceania and maybe even Seadream.

 

When we first heard the cruise was shortened, we were disappointed. At the end though, the six nights turned out to be perfect for us and the on board credit covered most of our ship expenditures. We then spent the next night in San Juan as we couldn't change our flights. Celebrity gave us a $300. credit towards the hotel (which was more but that was our choice).

 

If you are staying over in San Juan, eat at the Dragonfly in Old San Juan. It's a fusion type of Tapas place. Food was great but they don't take reservations.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanjuan/D50438.html

 

Leaving the ship, we were given a note the night before where and when to report. I was told with the suite we would get priority, but there was no mention of it anywhere. We waited at the spot indicated and when nobody was taking charge or telling anyone anything, we found somebody and asked what we should do. She said to just leave. Communication could be a little better. I don't know if its typical on ships but officers were really no where to be found. We didn't have any problems that required one, but if you did (say a loud drunk acting up) I don't know who you would turn to.

 

Hope this helps anyone with the same itinerary.

 

Glen

[crisp1]

Thanks for the review, we leave in a week and a half- can't wait. Do you remember the name of the beach you went to in Dominica?

Thanks

[Terre]

Thank you for posting your review. We will be on the Summit in April and are really looking forward to it. You are right about Mr. Nice's Fruit Stand...you just have go!

[glenr]

Thanks for the review, we leave in a week and a half- can't wait. Do you remember the name of the beach you went to in Dominica?

Thanks

 

Crisp1,

 

I don't recall but will look to see if we wrote it down. The name Mehe's or something like that rings a bell. This may even be where the cruise ship tours do their beach day as a couple of van's pulled up with people holding Celebrity towels after we were already there. This is a black sand beach about 30 minutes north of Rousseau, where you dock. From this point you can head into the interior and hit some of the other spots, all in a day.

 

Enjoy.

 

Glen

[BlewWater]

We were on the same cruise, but a couple of weeks earlier.

 

Our overall impression was pretty much right in line with your review. Not the best cruise we have had, and certainly not the worst. It was a fun week, and we're glad we did it.

 

We made it to most of the evening shows. They were worth going to; definitely entertained us. But I would say they were simply "typical".

 

I posted some of our daily cruise bulletins, schedules, and documents on this web page:

 

http://www.1mpages.com/CruiseDailyBulletins.html

 

I think they might be helpful for others who might be considering the Celebrity Summit.

 

By the way, I agree that he hamburgers at the grill were disappointing...but the cookies there were a hidden gem!

[jchitt]

We were on the same cruise, but a couple of weeks earlier.

 

Our overall impression was pretty much right in line with your review. Not the best cruise we have had, and certainly not the worst. It was a fun week, and we're glad we did it.

 

We made it to most of the evening shows. They were worth going to; definitely entertained us. But I would say they were simply "typical".

 

I posted some of our daily cruise bulletins, schedules, and documents on this web page:

 

http://www.1mpages.com/CruiseDailyBulletins.html

 

I think they might be helpful for others who might be considering the Celebrity Summit.

 

By the way, I agree that he hamburgers at the grill were disappointing...but the cookies there were a hidden gem!

 

Thank you so much! It was so helpful. Great photos and videos.

[SuSu530]

Thank you so much for posting the cruise bulletins and pictures. We sail in 6 weeks, and after viewing your website, I can hardly wait!!

[hessdp01]

We sail the Summit in four weeks...your information and photos were invaluable...thank you!:)

[Terre]

Can anyone tell me if the cabin stewards have assistants? I like to make thank you cards for them for their extra tips and it seems that our last X cruise had assistant cabin stewards.

 

hessdp01, are you sailing on April 4th...we're on that sailing and have a roll call going.

[Texed]

Can anyone tell me if the cabin stewards have assistants?

 

Yes they do.

[Terre]

Thank you!

[hessdp01]

Terre, we are on the week ahead of you, March 28 - April 4. We'll try to leave the ship in one piece for you ;) Enjoy your cruise!