Smurfette76

CABIN #: 6145 (Summit)

DECK #: 6

CLASS: S1

AREA: Portside Aft (Same configuration as 6146 Starbord Aft)

BED NEAR: Faces balcony

QUIET?: It depends on who is next to you... This room shares an adjoining door to the Penthouse Suite and right next to the door is a grand piano. You will definitely hear the piano if played. It has a player piano feature, which could be nice to overhear if you enjoy it. NOT nice if non-professional players or children are hammering on it. Our butler was awesome about having the piano situation toned down in our case but if you need 100% peace and quiet this cabin is a risk. We could hear children screaming in the afternoon and at the crack of dawn every day. Fortunately, we had excursions booked each morning so we treated the kids as our alarm clock. If you want a guarantee of quiet, you may wish to select another Sky Suite.

BALCONY VIEW: Portside Aft

BALCONY SIZE: Large

WIND A PROBLEM?: No

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: As mentioned, the fact that it is adjacent to the Penthouse and shares an adjoining door can be problematic. You could have loud children, wannabe pianists, or large parties that create noise. It is a special cabin, though, with a great balcony and bathroom and stellar room attendants. We will consider giving it one more shot if available for our next cruise but if it's noisy again, we'd book in another area if on an M-Class ship.

Hi Cathy! I took over 1000 photos and took some GoPro videos so indeed I will post a bunch. ;) We flew down on Friday (one day in advance) and are so glad we did. We had a 6:15am American Airlines flight to Miami. I think our connection time was around an hour and a half. We landed around 2pm. We had no problem catching our flight to San Juan BUT my suitcase didn't make it! Fortunately it arrived at our hotel around 8pm. Had we flown in on the day of embarkation, I doubt my suitcase would have made it to the ship in this scenario. I advise flying in at least a day in advance, and if one can swing it, two. We would do two days next time in order to rest up after the long travel day. We are on Air Canada's direct flight tomorrow (Sunday). I think West Jet has a Saturday direct flight to Toronto as well. Happy planning!

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I forgot to mention that the construction of the new suite restaurant was practically invisible. I forgot to ask if it will open early, but it is slated to open at least for the April 4th sailing. It wasn't until I stepped off the ship that I realized I didn't ask if I could have a sneak peek! Staff told us the menu and experience is going to be outstanding!

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Just a quick update to share that our cruise aboard the Summit was amazing! We sadly disembarked a few hours ago. Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze, by the way. We are spending the day exploring Old San Juan and fly home tomorrow.

We loved the size of the ship, our suite, the staff and the itinerary. I will post a proper photo review when I upload my pictures onto my laptop. Until then, a special shout out to: Bernadeth and Casa Nova in housekeeping, Jose the head butler, Toto from Cellar Masters, bartenders Tess, Daniel, Lionel, Carlos and Alexander, wine attendant Marko, Justin the activities host, Caroline the Port Shopping guide and Ashley the Captsin's Club hostess. Thanks to the Bandmates and Airband for the great tunes! Thanks to the captain (who could headline as a comedian) for the smooth nights at sea. I know I'm forgetting some other wonderful staff so more accolades to follow!

The only thing that we wished we could have changed (but can not) is how some of the guests gave bar staff the gears. I only noticed this on a few occasions but I just wanted to hug the staff for continuing to smile and do their best. We thought the bar staff worked like wizards given how busy they were!

Off to explore the El Morrow fort! Gotta enjoy some sunshine before returning to chilly Toronto!

Thanks to everyone for answering our questions prior to sailing. I will do my best to return the favour when back on land. We took a lot of amazing excursions so I'll be sure to share the details of those. The beauty of the islands on this itinerary and their friendly inhabitants combined with the ship experience truly made for a magical vacation.

Ok this wasn't quick but I felt compelled to post how happy we were with the cruise.

Safe travels to all of our new friends we met on board!

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Hello fellow cruisers!

Just a happy post to share that we boarded the Summit around noon today and she is a beautiful ship. Having sailed on the Reflection we knew not to expect the bells and whistles of the newer S-Class ships. That said, the Summit is in great condition for her age. It's like a compact version of the S-Class ships. The staff members have all been wonderful. I will post a review upon our return. I'd love to do a live on board type entry but we are planning on being busy in port! :) I'll happily answer questions upon our return.

So to anyone booked on the Summit and is worried about her age, fear not. With age comes wisdom! We think she is just lovely!

Safe travels everyone!

Re: OP's question: we are sailing today, March 7 on Summit and received a letter in our cabin saying that the construction was going on and they are extending the hours of select dining "in order to reduce delays". Talking to the hostess, she would not say how much reduced seating there was but basically said we should not plan on dining between 6:30 and 9:00. She had a map of tables on her podium with a bunch crossed off, from which I would estimate that 30-40% of tables that are usually used for select will not be used on this cruise. It seems like regular seatings and Blu shouldn't be affected.

Thank you for the live update! It is appreciated. We will keep our expectations at a reasonable level and will hope for the best. It seems that the construction hasn't been a huge hinderance to the MDR on other ships so hopefully the same will hold true for the Summit. Being told to not plan on dining between 6:30 and 9:00 would be annoying that's for sure. I hope that was just a suggestion and that things work out positively for you. We have proactively made Select reservations for our preferred times on formal nights in the hopes that will help.

Best wishes to you for a wonderful cruise!

Thank you aimodels!

I like your packing style... "More room for rum"! :) We'll leave our fins at home. Our cruise can't come soon enough. We're done with this lousy, cold winter!

Greetings from frozen Toronto!

My husband and I will be taking Spencer Ambrose's Beach Break tour to Jalousie Beach next month and we can't wait to snorkel beneath the pitons. We have our own snorkelling equipment and will definitely be bringing our own snorkels and masks. In an effort to pack light, we are thinking about leaving our fins at home. Just wondering if anyone who has snorkelled there recently would suggest we pack our fins or not. We're fairly strong swimmers, but know that if there is a current, fins can definitely be helpful. We will just bring our water shoes if the verdict is that fins aren't needed.

Thanks as always for your input!

Safe seas to all!

We honeymooned in Costa Rica and absolutely loved it! Their coffee is exceptional! One of the popular brands with tourists is Cafe Britt. While very good, it is often "turista" priced (more expensive). Locals told us to forego Britt and buy more reasonably priced Cafe Rey. We stocked up and are glad we took their advice. I wish I could brew some now but we ran out ages ago. I can't recall how much Cafe Rey cost but it was significantly less than the Britt and just as good. And yes, grocery stores offer the best pricing.

Have a great cruise. As the Costa Ricans say, "Pura Vida"! :D

Thank you to the Celebrity representative for taking the time to relay information to a tough crowd. Please know you are appreciated! :)

We will have an enjoyable cruise on the Summit March 21st sailing no matter what. We'll just wait and see what happens. At least we know to expect some construction. We would have loved to have been able to rebook our cruise until "after the dust settles" but our work situation only allows us to travel during certain weeks of the year. So we'll make the best of it and look for the positives.

I feel bad for passengers not on Cruise Critic or who don't visit the Celebrity website. They may be surprised upon boarding. Dining is a big aspect of cruising for many. Undoubtedly some people will be disgruntled. I just hope that most can see the glass as half full... At least our cruise hasn't been cancelled! :D

Welcome home! :)

Did you by any chance hear any information about when construction of the new suite restaurant Luminae will begin?

We look forward to reading your review!

Been to the Caribbean many times, not familiar with EC either. . .

I believe the OP is referring to the currency XCD or the East Caribbean Dollar. While researching restaurants in Antigua for our upcoming Summit cruise, I noticed that many menu prices are posted in XCD or the shortened form CD. At first I was shocked at pricing before I realized the menus were not in USD!

Nice! Thanks for the update. Do you happen to know if this Summit perk applies to Sky Suites?

Thanks everyone.

I won't let it worry me too much. It will be what it will be. We chose the Summit for the port intensive itinerary and because we got an good deal on a nice Sky Suite. This trip will be about land based adventures and tropical scenery. I love the ritual of getting ready for dinner at sea, and while I'm a foodie I will keep my expectations at bay given the uncertain circumstances. So long as we don't have to eat sawdust from the construction in the MDR we'll be A-OK! :D And if there isn't any construction it will be a pleasant bonus! Here's to hoping perhaps the suite dining restaurant will be open early! (Not holding my breath for that, though.)

Happy travels!

Greetings!

With recent word that construction of the suite restaurant Luminae has commenced on the Equinox and will last for the next three sailings, I'm wondering if anyone knows when the other ships will begin construction. I ask because we are sailing on the Summit on March 21st, two weeks before the suite restaurant is due to open. We will most certainly enjoy our cruise no matter what, but it would be nice to be prepared for construction in the MDR.

Thanks in advance for any insight! Happy sailing everyone!

Thanks for posting! I am interested in this info as well. Any input is appreciated!

Hello!

We are cruising to Antigua in March and are considering taking the #17 bus to explore Nelson's Dockyard on our own. We are wondering if it would be convenient to pop by Jacqui O's on the way back to the ship for an hour or so of beach time and bevies. Does the bus pass Jacqui O's from Nelson's or would we need to take taxis? Alternatively, we might just hike to Pigeon Beach from the dockyard, as per previous suggestions.

Thanks in advance for your replies! :)

Thank you Celebrity representative for your clarification!

The $0.30 daily increase in grats is peanuts and well earned! We like to tip hard working bartenders a little extra here and there anyway, in the hopes it will go directly into their much-deserving hands! However, pricing HAS changed for Canadians since our cruise last year according to my experience today...

Update for Canadians: I just called to re-clarify the upgrade price for us Canucks and was initially told the weekly cost is $82.60CAD for the week. Then I got transferred and was told we do not pay par with US, which is fair enough, but different than when we cruised in 2014. After I got transferred to the other person, the price I was then quoted per day for the upgrade was $14.72CAD vs $11.80USD or $103.04CAD per week. Still worth it even at a $20 per person per week increase over last year. No biggie but I thought I would communicate my experience on the board for anyone "north of the border". Sure our dollar has slipped a bit but it was irritating to receive two totally different quotes only a few minutes apart. I'm learning this is typical! :o So for those wondering, we Canadians do NOT pay at par for the upgrade anymore. So I was told. ;)

Surely the fact it states in the original post that any package got before the 1st feb will remain at 15% rate and no additional fee/charge is required... So I guess anyone that signed up before the 1st of feb it will be the same as before this announcement!

Yes, kind Celebrity representative, please clarify as my experience just a half an hour ago was different. I was specifically told by the telephone rep (who was very polite and friendly by the way) that drinks package price gratuities had gone up, thus I was charged the "new" pricing post February 1st because I was cruising in March. Thank you!

Hmm... Now that I think about it, I think the rep charged us for 8 nights instead of 7 this year. I'm so confused. Oh well. Still worth the extra investment! :)

Thank you for the info, Celebrity!

FYI, I just upgraded our included Classic Beverage Package to Premium and the "new" rates were imposed even though I called in before February 1st. I was told it was because we are sailing in March. It's not a huge deal but thought I'd give a heads up to any Canadians looking for future upgrade pricing: The daily upgrade price is now $12.88 CAD (inclusive of gratuities). So for a 7 night cruise to upgrade, it cost us $103.04 CAD per person. Last year we only paid $83.72 per person for the week to upgrade.

Still totally worth it in my opinion! Can't wait to enjoy our cruise without having to worry about paying extra for (most) bevies! :)

Hello Fellow Cruisers!

We have booked the Spencer Ambrose Beach Break tour to Jalousie Beach in March. We can't wait! Just wondering if anyone has recent experience renting chairs from the resort next to the public beach. I emailed them about cost a few weeks ago but have not heard back. According to what I've read, the price per lounger is anywhere from $25 to $50. I'm also wondering if we can we pay the fee by credit card. (The less cash I have to carry, the better!)

We may spring for the upgrade if the public area is packed. Any input is appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi Dawg, thanks for starting this thread! This method is a great opportunity for us Canucks to save a little bit. It's also nice to not have to carry as much cash while traveling! :) Safe travels!

I am also interested in this as the Canadian dollar is weakening by the minute! Even with the 5% casino fee, it might be a much better deal for us Canadians to buy Gifts by Celebrity OBC and then withdraw at the casino. $100 USD is currently around $118 CAD right now. Is there a maximum amount that can be withdrawn from the casino from OBC? Thanks!

We are on the March 21 Summit cruise also. Have you already booked with Calabaza? If not she may already be full since it is very popular. We had it booked for a different cruise and it filled up almost a year in advance.

Thanks luv2travlnow! We booked Calabaza back in April so we will see you on board! :) I've never booked anything so far in advance in my life. We usually book vacations two to three months prior. It has been advantageous having so much time to plan considering how many islands we will be visiting. It's like planning five mini vacations in one! LOL!

Again, thank you to all for the ideas!