Live from Celebrity Summit, 6/29/16

Hi, my DH and I are sailing on Celebrity Summit and just arrived in Bermuda this morning. Currently I am having trouble posting pics, but when I am able to I will. This is our third time on Summit. We like that she is a "smaller" ship. The service has been good for the most part, with a few glitches. Worst problem was while driving up, that the Bayonne Bridge was closed, and we had no idea until we were close to it (driving up from near Philadelphia). It might have been nice if the cruise line had posted a heads up on their web site or an email informing driving passengers of this issue. Yesterday we had a full day of rain, but hubby and I used the day as one of rest. We are in Aqua Class on deck 11. The cabin is rather small compared to what we are used to (usually book a Jr. Suite on Royal Caribbean). However, it is arranged with much attention to convenience, and there is room in it to store all our belongings. We have enjoyed dining in Blu, but the first night we ate at the Tuscan Grille and much preferred the food there. Last night we were unable to get a reservation there, so book early if you wish to eat there on this cruise! Also we have eaten most lunches in Bistro on Five, which is intimate and nice. Had lunch at the Oceanview Cafe today after exploring the shops at Kings Wharf. The buffet was just fine for my tastes but DH found the variety lacking. No burgers or hot dogs; for those you need to go out to the pool grill. I enjoyed my salad and chicken very much though. :) Tonight we have a shore excursion planned: Harbour Nights in Hamilton. We have done this before and enjoyed it very much. Tomorrow our shore excursion will be to Horseshoe Bay beach, again one of our very favorites. We have been to BDA multiple times and love it here. Any questions about this cruise please ask and I will try to answer them the best I can.

Are you having any problems with finding chairs in the solarium and how is the ship after being refurbish? Thank you for your help and enjoy your cruise!

I am so excited to see a LIVE report!! We are sailing in AQ on July 31. It is our first time in AQ, and our first time in Bermuda. How is the live music? We will be driving. What time did you reach the port, and was there plenty of parking? What are some of your favorite dishes at Bistro on Five? Wishing you a wonderful cruise. Thank you so much for posting!

Marie

Which AQ do you have? we will be in 1116 in October. Any noise issues from above?

Who is the Captain club host or hostess and the cruise director and how long will they be on?

Sandra

Who is the new Captain now that Captain Kate is on vacation? We are on next Sunday's (7/3) cruise.

It must be nice with only the Summit in port. Much smaller crowds. Enjoy!

Curious if you are seeing shorts in the dining room? Also what is "Chic" night looking like? I had planned on nice jeans as we are not a dress to the nines family, that got old many cruises ago

I'm just along for the ride. Thanks for the live report! Have a great cruise.

Will be on the Summit in August 2017 to Bermuda. Will be anniversary trip for me and DH. So excited and really enjoying everyone's posts. Thanks for sharing and any tips you can give us are much appreciated. Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

On the summit in a few weeks with family. To the person who asked about Chic night, jeans are really not worn. We were recently on the Reflection and most people still dress up. Perhaps not in tux and long gowns (but some do) but ladies cocktail clothes and men in jackets and ties in all of the restaurants and bars.

I am not stating what anybody should wear- just an observation.

just an observation

And we have observed differently on the different cruises we have taken since this new "Chic" night. It really depends where you are sailing from, length of cruise, and where you are eating. Some cruises have a more dessy cliental, while others are more relaxed. Last October out of South Hampton - Very dressy (The English like tux and gowns.) This past May/June out of Amsterdam - Less dressy. Caribbean last spring - Casual to nicely dressed. ;)

We have not been on any Celebrity cruise in the last few years where "ladies cocktail clothes and men in jackets and ties in all of the restaurants and bars." But I do agree that you will see very few pairs of jeans. There will be some, and according to Celebrity, you are now welcome to wear nice jeans to dine in. Enjoy! :)

Worst problem was while driving up, that the Bayonne Bridge was closed, and we had no idea until we were close to it (driving up from near Philadelphia). It might have been nice if the cruise line had posted a heads up on their web site or an email informing driving passengers of this issue.

they open and close the bridge at the Authority's discretion/schedule/weather according to PANYNJ. 2 weeks ago, the site said it was closed, google directed me to Goethals and 78 and I later found out the Bayonne Bridge was in fact open that day.

I'm not familiar with driving up from Philly but I'm confused/curious as to why you would go through Staten Island and pay the toll on the Goethals rather than use 78?

Hi, will try to answer all questions, but if I miss one, please remind me! We have only eaten in the Aqua Class dining room which is called Blu, and the Tuscan Grille specialty (Italian) restaurant. I have not seen shorts on anyone in either of these restaurants I don't think, although passengers were not all that fancy either. With regard to "Evening Chic," we saw everything from a few tuxedos down to sundresses. It's pretty loosely enforced or suggested. We are in an Aqua Class cabin on the port side, deck 11. We have had ZERO problems with noise whatsoever, and I was concerned about that. The balcony door is REALLY heavy and thick, and when it is closed it is completely quiet. Also this has to be the quietest cabin we've ever been in, over the course of 17 cruises or so. And that's saying something. We get no noise at all from cabins on either side. There is barely any hallway noise either as the Aqua Class staterooms are not "thoroughfares" to anywhere else. On the balcony (which is small, but sufficient) in the very early morning if I am out there (and I love being out there!) I can hear a crew member sweeping the deck immediately above, but that's it, and no debris falls onto our balcony. Even though we are so high up on this deck, it does not feel like we are. Also I was worried about motion while sailing, but it was extremely smooth. :)

The drive up here (we came from the Philadelphia PA area) had only one problem, but it was a big one. The Bayonne Bridge is closed. I think the cruise line could have given us all who drive to port, a heads up on this. Our GPS kept rerouting us back to the closed bridge, and the detour was not very well marked. We ended up getting there an hour later than anticipated due to this problem. But being Aqua Class, we avoided the huge throng waiting in line to check in, which was a huge plus.

I have not seen jeans that I can think of, on this cruise. There may have been some but not in my immediate recall. The Captain's name is Alex Papadopoulus, and the cruise director is Eddy Jenkins. He is quite funny!!

Last night at Harbour Night, it was fun, but not many street vendors. The music was good, but most of the stores in Hamilton were NOT open. We had dinner at the Hogpenny restaurant on Burbary street, and I highly recommend it! Quaint little pub and the fish and chips are to die for. We felt this tour from the ship was overpriced. In the past more stores have been open and more vendors selling crafts. But live and learn. And the smaller boat ride over to Hamilton from Kings Wharf was very scenic and nice, with a very informative and helpful crew. The name of that boat was the Coral Sea.

Today we went to Horseshoe Bay as a shore excursion from the ship. It was beautiful as always. Less crowded due to the fact we are the only ship visiting Bermuda at the moment. Interesting note: the little restaurant/stand at HB had a sign up saying, "Regrets, no alcohol sales today." Not sure what that was about, as traditionally they do sell cocktails, wine and beer there, and were doing so as recently as a year ago. No one seemed to be complaining much about it though. We rented two lounge chairs and an umbrella for $40.

Tonight we have another reservation at the Tuscan Grille. When I called this time the person who answered told me, there is an extra fee for this restaurant. Well I knew that, but on the first night we got it half price for Aqua Class passengers, which was a treat. Tonight: $45/per person, extra fee. WOW, I think that is high, so probably this will be our last time eating there this trip. The food was excellent but $90 for a mean not including any drinks?! I really cannot see how such a meal would be worth that, above and beyond what we already paid to be on this ship in the Aqua class besides. That's a pretty high additional fee, just for Italian food; we are not talking filet mignon or lobster tail.

No rain today, all sunshine!! :) I have not been to the Solarium so sorry I am not qualified to answer questions about that at this time.

 

I'm not familiar with driving up from Philly but I'm confused/curious as to why you would go through Staten Island and pay the toll on the Goethals rather than use 78?

I also wondered that? I would think they would just come up the Jersey Turnpike and get off exit 14A? :confused:

Thank you for the report on Deck 11/12 noise. Water709. Could you tell me which stateroom number you are in, or at least is it mid deck, closer to the pool, closer to the Sunset Bar, etc.? Ours, 1116 will be mid deck on one of the tiny humps. We wil get an extra few inches of balcony. :D.

Hope you enjoy dinner tonight. In May, we were able to eat in Tuscan for 30% off. the first nights specialty restaurant was about 40% off. For $90 pp, you should get the Filets and all the sides you wish, plus desserts. The Ribeye was not very good IMO. Too grizzly.

We'll also be on Summit in August. Our first time on Celebrity and I'm curious how it'll compare.

Is there much live music and if so, how is it?

If you ever figure out the picture issue, can you post something with the drink menu? We're debating between packages, but it's hard to tell if you don't know what the price of mixed/frozen drinks are.

they open and close the bridge at the Authority's discretion/schedule/weather according to PANYNJ. 2 weeks ago, the site said it was closed, google directed me to Goethals and 78 and I later found out the Bayonne Bridge was in fact open that day.

 

I'm not familiar with driving up from Philly but I'm confused/curious as to why you would go through Staten Island and pay the toll on the Goethals rather than use 78?

Same here, I'm a retired Police officer from Essex County, there is no reason to use the Bayonne Bridge from Philly, going way out of your way. You simply come up to the Airport on the Turnple and go to exit 14A.

Also, forgot to ask, which bars allow smoking?

Thank you for doing your thread. Looks like you are having a great cruise so far.:):):)

Following.:)

Same here, I'm a retired Police officer from Essex County, there is no reason to use the Bayonne Bridge from Philly, going way out of your way. You simply come up to the Airport on the Turnple and go to exit 14A.

I can make a guess why they used the Bayonne Bridge. They used a Garmin. Or a similar GPS. The Garmin my ride to the dock was using directed us to use the Bayonne Bridge. We started from Metuchen. Since my ride was familiar with the area they ignored the GPS routing, thought it was a bad idea, and went up the turnpike instead.

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I was not the person driving to the port; DH was, and always does the driving. Also he works in a job where he has a six state territory that he travels by car so he is not a novice. We have gone to the Cape Liberty to get on cruises several times. We do take the PA turnpike, and we DO get off on exit 14A, and it takes us directly to the Bayonne Bridge which is 5 minutes from the port. Whatever route we happen to take is our business anyway. I'm a little bit hurt that people are trying to make me and DH feel stupid about just trying to give a little bit of help to someone who might be driving to the port, by letting them know the Bayonne Bridge is closed. :( This was not meant to be a discussion about how to get to Cape Liberty from the area where I live. :( I was merely pointing out that the bridge is closed, for anyone who might be thinking of getting to the port from that route.

The live music onboard has been fantastic. All of the musicians, from the lounges to the shows have been top notch.

Glad you are enjoying this cruise. Four of our friends/neighbors are currently on your cruise to Bermuda.. Hope they are having a great time too. Our neighbors are from The Cherry Hill, NJ area. We are Celebrity fans - elite level, and have booked a 14 night Caribbean cruise on the Eclipse in January 2017.

Have a wonderful cruise.

Keith