CathyCU03

We are just off the Adventure of the Seas and I wanted to share our experience with the key program.  There were 3 in our party (2 adults and a 7YO) and we paid $19.99 a day per person.  They were still selling the key a few days before our cruise so I expect it did not sell out.  Overall I would say it was nice to have but far from necessary if you don't want to spend the money.  We chose it because my husband really hates crowds and having to wait in line so we're generally willing to pay a little more to avoid those situations.  

We used the special check-in lines and embarkation lunch at Chops.  The check-in lines in general were not long so I don't know if that saved us much time.  We did drop off one bag to be delivered to our stateroom an it was there no problem.  Lunch at Chops was nice but our server was poor and it took much longer than it should have to the point where we just skipped dessert because we wanted to explore the ship.  Other tables with other servers did not seem to have this problem.  The menu was what I had seen posted on this thread.  There was also no kids menu available which was a bummer for our 7YO. 

We used the express debarkation at our stop in San Juan.  We arrived in the afternoon and had a private excursion so we wanted to get off the boat as soon as possible.  We met at one of the lounges and were escorted around the line to get off the boat.   This probably saved us about 10 minutes of waiting to get off the boat. 

My husband and I used the reserved seating for shows several times.  The reserved area was in the balcony with the suites and elite status members.  We would arrive right before the show started and there were always plenty of seats.  There were also plenty of seats available throughout the theater so I'm not sure if this was a real benefit.

There were dedicated hours for rock climbing, flowrider and ice skating.  We went to 3 or 4 of the rock climbing hours and only ever saw one other family there.  We also went to one of the ice skating sessions and were the only people on the ice which was very cool.  We did not go to the flowrider hours.  There was no mention of skipping the lines at times not designated on our schedule.  

We used the internet for one devise throughout the cruise.  In general it worked fine although was to slow to stream videos in the evenings.  I had no problems in the morning when I'm assuming less people are using the network.

On our last day we went to breakfast in the dinning room.  The hours were 6:30-9am.  We got there around 8am and were escorted off around 8:45am.  There were at most 10 other families there.  When we were done eating, the escort took us to the exit off the boat.  Then we collected our luggage from a designated key area and were then directed to a special line to clear customs.  This saved us considerable time because the customs line was pretty long.  

Where did you get the shuttle? I knew the bus goes to horseshoe bay but there is a walk from the bus stop to the beach, would be happier with the shuttle.

They line up right in front of the cruise ships. There were always transportation guides out helping people find a shuttle for where they were going. Very friendly.

Thanks immensely for the story. We embark Sunday on the same cruise. Your experience will help us with many choices -- meals, activities, kids stuff, etc. I registered on this website solely for the purpose of thanking you. Otherwise I go to significant lengths to protect my digital privacy.

 

Thanks again. Well done!

Have a good trip!

Cathy, Thank you for posting the shipmates schedules for the Fun Factory. Unfortunately I am unable to read them. Unlike the Summit Today schedules you posted showing activities on the ship, the Fun Factory schedules get very distorted when you increase the size to read them. Even tried a magnifying glass but that didn't work either. Any chance you might be able to repost even one of them in your actual review, rather than a separate link; like you did with the Summit Today schedules? Thank you so much for all the wonderful info you have posted thus far. It's answered so many questions and is so informative! :)

Scroll down in that link. I posted them again when I realized they didn't come out.

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What a great review! It sounds like you had an amazing trip! We loved our trip last August so much we booked another for next year (with our kids & my parents!)

 

I have some questions if you don't mind.

 

Warwick Long Bay : Bathroom or Port o Potty? Was it clean? We did Horseshoe last year, but wanted to try Warwick for a morning & do the walk back to Horseshoe. I can't not have a bathroom. [emoji15]

 

Beach Shuttle: did you pay for your daughter? Do you remember if under a certain age was free? With kids 14, 12 & 9, plus 4 adults a taxi is probably just as much!

 

Fun Factory: did you notice if the age groups are separated into different spaces? This is what I did not like about Disney! I feel the 9-11s needs to be separate from the 3-5s.

 

Harbor Nights: what was the cost for the activities in the kids area? Was it terribly loud during the Gombeys performance?

 

The private sail boat: do you have the contact information? About how much did it cost? My parents would LOVE this. We're planning on doing the snorkel trip with Restless Native, but a private boat sounds wonderful. And out of our price range.

 

Thank again!

 

 

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The bathrooms were more like latrines. There's a small building but no flushing toilets.

We did pay for my DD on the beach shuttles. Not sure if younger kids would be free. When we took a taxi we just paid the meter so that might be a better option for a larger group.

There were different rooms in the fun factory and they did split them up by age. I know that the 3-5 and 6-8 were together sometimes. I assume the older ages were also sometimes grouped together. But unless it was a whole kids club activity the older and younger kids are generally separated.

At harbor nights we paid $10 for a bracelet for unlimited time on all the bounce houses - think there were 3 or 4. You could also buy a few trips down the slide or 5 min of time for less money. I don't remember the dancers being overly loud.

Here is the charter company we used, they have the rates and options on the site. http://www.bermudacharters.com/ We did 4 hours which gave us plenty of time for sailing, swimming/snorkeling and eating lunch. I did a lot of research and they were the best option that met our criteria of private, easy to get on and off the boat, and has a bathroom.

Cathy, thanks so much for posting the daily Summit Today schedules. My family and I are sailing to Bermuda on the Summit at the end of August 2017 and we had been looking for them for some time. Also appreciated your detailed daily blog.. Helpful in knowing what to expect and for planning. One thing we have not been able to find is any info on the Fun Factory. We will be traveling with six children and having some idea what they offer on a daily basis would sure be helpful. If time permits and you have an example of what a day in the fun factory might offer, we would be so grateful if you would post it here. Thanks again for all the info!

I posted all but one of the fun factory schedules here - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2525419&highlight=summit

Older kids had different schedules but some of the activities were the same.

Thanks so much for your detailed review! Very much appreciated as I am leaving this Sunday for my first ever cruise, Summit to Bermuda!

 

Quick question, do you need cash, exact change for the buses, beach shuttles from the dock? Trying to figure out how much cash we need to bring.

We had cash for taxis and the beach shuttles. It looked like the taxis would take credit cards but I'm not sure the shuttles would. I had heard that some people had issues with exact change for the buses and ferries so I went to the information center that was right where the boat was docked. I figured out how many tokens we needed and bought them there in advance. Then I could use my credit card. I did notice that the hours were a little limited so if you want to do that I recommend stopping by in the morning. I saw a sign that the buses require exact change and by change they mean coins - not bills. I'm not sure if that is really the case or not but I didn't want to have to deal with it.

Was your Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle at 9:30am or at another time?

It was either 9 or 9:30. Pretty early and they only put the invitation on our door that morning. I only noticed it when we got our breakfast delivery.

Did you have to go up steps to get through the theatre to the helipad? If so, do you know if there is an alternate way to get there without steps?

Yes. The invitation said you must be able to climb stairs. You had to climb through a sort of submarine style door then up about 6 steps. It didn't look like their was an alternative way.

These are awesome! Thank you. Are the concerts such as Chicago, Earth, Wind and Fire, Journey real live in person with these bands? (DH said that would be "pretty cool."). Middle agers here... :)

Funny my DH said the same thing when we first saw it! I think they just play recordings of the concerns on the movie screen.

I just added the daily schedules to my trip report if you want to see the movies and times that were on last week.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2525463

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I thought I would also point the daily schedule for anyone else taking this cruise. It was pretty similar to the other ones I've seen posted previously.

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Day - 8 - Cape Liberty, Bayonne NJ

Vacation was officially ending. :( DD had a rough night with a probable ear infection so my Mom helped us out in the morning and got DH and I some coffee and pastries while we finished packing. My parents then went to the dining room for breakfast where they said there was a long line and the standard menu. Around 8:15 we went to our assigned lounge. We were group 7 and were probably called a little after 9. We found our luggage easily and made it through customs quickly. We were in the car driving away by 9:45.

Thanks for reading. I'll leave you with a few sunset pictures since I can't remember what night I took them. Do you see the alligator?

Day 7 photos

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Day 7 - At Sea

It's hard to believe how fast time flies when you're on vacation. We woke up to an early delivery of pastries and cereal for DH and DD. I wanted to check out the full offering of breakfast options so I went up to the Oceanview Cafe buffet. I was a little disappointed till I spotted the egg benedict bar. I chose the smoked salmon and it was very tasty! They also had donuts which they don't offer on the room service menu.

After breakfast we went up to the pool for a swim. On my way to breakfast I checked to see if I could snag a chair - if you can't beat em join em! But at 8am every chair was already reserved. Urgh!! At least we found a bench we could put our bag on. Again there was plenty of room to swim and to relax in the hot tubs. DD and I enjoyed a morning pina coloda!

At 11:15 DD wanted to go to the fun factory to meet Captain Alex. She told us she asked him what he does when he gets lost. Apparently Captain Alex has a map on his phone to help him out. Who knew! The kids also got to take pictures with the Captain. The picture showed up on our picture account. It was absolutely horrible so we didn't buy it :)

We then went to the buffet for one last lunch. When we walked in DD was memorized - they set up a large chocolate fountain in the dessert area. After a few slices of pizza we let her check it out. They had strawberries, marshmallows, brownies and other fixings. You told the staff what you wanted and they put it on a skewer and dipped it in the chocolate. DD had marshmallows and DH and I tried the strawberries. It was tasty but since it comes in a fountain the chocolate doesn't really harden so it makes quite a mess.

After lunch DD went back to the fun factory so they adults could go to a wine blending class with Alex. This was really interesting. You got 4 mini bottles of red wine (cab sav, merlot, syrah, and grenache). We tasted each separately then then each table got to try blending several different wines. You used a special measuring pipet and beaker which made me feel like a chemist. We were asked to pick our favorite blend to submit for tasting by Alex and the other sommeliers. They picked their 2 favorites - one of which was ours! You could order bottles of your blend but we passed. It was a bit expensive and we figured we would leave it to the professionals! We appreciated that Celebrity offered some wine events above and beyond a generic tasting which we have done many times. There was a $35 fee for the class and I think it was worth it. You didn't end up drinking as much as in the food and wine pairing class but honestly after almost a week of vacation we didn't need it.

We relaxed on the balcony for a bit then I went to pick-up DD. I figured she could relax a bit while I started to pack. However, I failed to look on the schedule and didn't realize they were about to start the kids talent show. When I got there DD was devastated at the idea of missing it. She had signed up to sing a song. So I stayed to watch. The Shipmates (3-5YOs) went last and DD was in every act. She was in one dance with a little boy who didn't want to go alone. She then sang 2 songs, including an original about how much she loves to sing and how much she loves her mommy and daddy (so sweet - it melted my heart). Then the whole shipmates crew did a group dance. DD was quite the little performer and I'm glad I was there to get some pictures and video. I wish there had been an easy way to communicate back to the rooms because I'm sure DH and my parents would have enjoyed it. Point to Disney and their on board messaging app.

Since the talent show cut into my packing time we raced back to the room and I started throwing things in the suitcases while also trying to get ready for dinner. At dinner I finally tried the escargot which were buttery and tender. I also had the veal cordon bleu which was very tasty. DD went to the fun factory and we went back to the room to finish packing and get our suitcases out. We had told DD she could stay up late to go to the kids disco. I thought it would be family friendly songs and dancing but it was really a bunch of games put on by the fun factory staff set to music. While we didn't get to get our family groove on DD still had fun.

Day 6 - Part 2 photos

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Thanks to everyone who has com commented! It's good to know someone is reading :)

Day 6 - Part 2 - Leaving Bermuda

As concierge guests we were invited to sail away from the helipad in the front of the ship. Only guests 6YO and up were allowed so DH stayed in the room with DD and let her have a little ipad time. Honestly I don't think it would have mattered but it probably wouldn't have been that interesting for her. They also said you had to wear closed toed shoes and they were enforcing that rule. That made some ladies quite angry. I saw some women wearing slippers and even one woman wearing men's dress shoes. Whatever it takes!

A note about sailing concierge - I don't know what the price difference is since this cruise was my parents' treat - but i really did enjoy this event, the galley tour, special check-in lines and lunch the first day. We also got a few extra bags and other Celebrity junk which we could take or leave. The daily canapes were a total joke. One day we got crushed up potato chips and pineapple chunks. Several days we got some kind of dip like hummus but no bread or crackers to dip in it. I would happily trade 7 days of canapes for an extra bottle of champagne.

Back to sail away - we had to access the helipad through the theater and got to see the performers practicing the final show. It looked interesting but unfortunately a 9pm show just wouldn't work for DD so we didn't make it to any. Once we got up to the helipad they were serving champagne and OJ. So fun! We partook in several glasses and enjoyed the view. We even saw Captain Alex knocking through the glass to get our attention before blowing the horn.

Once we had pulled out of the harbor area I decided it was time to hit the shops. I was disappointed because they had been selling Bermuda t-shirts by the pool on one of the earlier sea days but I hadn't gotten one. They had some of the shirts but the sizes were pretty picked over. They were one for $17 or two for $20 and I just couldn't find two that would work and I didn't think one was worth $17. I made up for it in the jewelry store with a new pair of earrings and got DD a lego set of the boat. I also stopped by the art gallery (where they were serving more champagne). I fell in love with one of their paintings but after a great debate between DH and myself we decided it was not quite in the budget.

Tonight was the second casual chic night. We dressed up a bit but no ties for the men. It was also lobster night! Yum! Interestingly enough on the galley tour they told us the only food they serve that they don't bring with them from Bayonne is the lobster. It wouldn't be fresh enough if they had to carry it on board for several days. We had some excellent wine at dinner but again our servers seemed a little off. My Dad had ordered some kind of steak and asked to add a lobster tail on to make surf and turf. I asked for the same thing but they forgot my lobster tail. :( Eventually I got one but it was when everyone was almost finished with their entrees and came with all the sides which I didn't want. DD snuck away in the middle of the meal to visit the fun factory. After dinner and some more of that great Hungarian dessert wine we hit up the casino but weren't really feeling it. We picked up DD and put her to bed then checked out the karaoke and Motown trivia/dance party.

Overall we really enjoyed our time in Bermuda. It was very beautiful and the people were very friendly. I could see us going back especially since it's such a short flight from the east coast.

Was the carnival just for the youngest kids? We will be on the ship in two weeks with a 7 and 8 yo (plus an 11 and 12 yo) and I'm wondering if we should be prepared for this for the younger ones? And, if so, they need to have adult supervision it sounds like?

I know it included all the kids at the fun factory. I think that goes through 11. I'm not sure about the tween and teen groups.

You had to have an adult present. You could use the dinner party service that night but had to pick-up at 7pm. Then you were allowed to check your kids back in at 8:30.

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Day 6 - part 1 pictures

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Day 6 - Last Day in Bermuda - Part 1

This morning my parents and I had gotten a little tired of the same room service breakfast menu so we went to the dining room. The menu items were actually pretty similar but they had eggs benedict which is my favorite breakfast treat and it was good. DH and DD stuck with the room service pastries and cereal. We then went back to the room to pack up for our day aboard a the 45-foot sailboat AJ's Wings with Bermuda Charters. DH, DD and I had done a similar sailboat charter in St. Thomas last December and it was the highlight of our trip. I convinced my parents to break away from Celebrity planned excursions for something a little more private and special. My Mom was stressed about missing the ship, but spoiler alert - they had us back right on time.

We met Captain Anthony and his first mate at a pier next to the Breakaway and headed out. It had rained some the night before and was a little cloudy and choppy. We got out of the harbor and put the sails up and headed toward Hamilton. Captain Anthony is a local and told us a lot about Bermuda and what life is like on the island. We talked a lot about Bermuda real estate and saw some pretty homes along the way. After we had been sailing for a bit DD was getting anxious to get in the water. Captain Anthony said their usual snorkel location would be a little to rough today so we went to another cove to swim and snorkel. We saw a few turtles from the boat but the snorkeling was not great. While we were snorkeling it started to rain again. It was an odd feeling to be swimming and to have it rain on your back. The rain ended quickly and after we got back on the boat we cruised a little to find a nice place for lunch. At Captain Anthony's suggestion I had ordered boxed lunches in advance from Miles Market. We enjoyed some tasty croissant sandwiches, cheese and crackers, fruit, chips and cookies. It was then time to sail back to the Dockyards. Captain Anthony dropped us off directly in front of the Summit and we were back on board with plenty of time. It was a very peaceful day and we enjoyed having the boat to ourselves.

One of our favorite things to do on the balcony is watch the runners coming back to the boat at the last minute. There weren't to many this time. Since we had 3 days in Bermuda most of the guests we talked to were planning to stick close to the Dockyard on the last day. One of my biggest regrets is that we didn't time the time to explore the shops around Dockyards a little more and visit the museum.

Up next - sail away from the helipad and lobster night!

Day 5 - part 2 photos

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