amunhbuu

The price of a suite that I had my eye on for the last week jumped by $400 / person on this new sale.  No change in inventory.

Haven't purchased yet.  Will probably wait until we are closer to the event.

We ate in Luminae every night.  We ended up with the same wait staff each night.  We were also seated in the same spot every night.  We did tend to eat at the same time.  They figure out everyone's patterns pretty quickly.

I did have sushi on five for lunch one day and enjoyed it while reading a book.  It is not amazing, but it is more than acceptable for the price.

Eventually booked Hotel Milano.  Now we are debating on the $40 tickets or the $60 tickets.  Will probably end up with the $60 tickets so we can get in earlier.

You technically had to badge in on the Retreat Deck on the Summit a couple of weeks ago.  A couple of times, they had someone standing there when the badge reader was malfunctioning.  The staff knows the suite guests after the first day.

I really enjoyed it and spent quite a bit of time up there. I didn't have to compete for chairs down at the pool.  Unfortunately, there was one day when the whirlpool was out of action.  I had to use the showers up there quite a bit to cool off.

It would have been nice if they had put a walk up bar and some bathrooms up there.  A cool water pool would have been nice as well, but there were really only ten of us up there at any time.

Yeah, been looking at the Hotel Milano.  Probably not horrible for just a room to crash for a single night. 

Sheraton just opened up some rooms today.  But they are a little proud of them based on the pricing.  🤯

We just switched our return flight to Sunday so we can attend.  Now I need to find a hotel room in OSJ.

1 hour ago, KathyL2537 said:

NM Traveller:  no worries about traveling with non snorkelers. It is an optional activity. For the beach snorkels, they take place after the island hike, so non-snorkelers can go back on board or just stay on the beach while others snorkel. There are tenders going back and forth regularly so whenever she wants to head back she can.  For the deep water snorkels, many just stay on board. On our cruise in August I want to say that perhaps a third to half of us did the deep water ones. So your wife will be fine hanging out on board with all the new friends you are sure to meet there 🙂

 

In terms of water temperature, it varies depending on what month you are going. And how cold it feels depends on your personal thermostat. There is definitely discussion about this on the "recently returned" thread.  One woman on our trip swims in Colorado rivers so she was fine in a bathing suit!  Check this link out for more information. https://www.igtoa.org/travel_guide/weather

 

According to our naturalist it was mid 60s when we were there in August so this was pretty accurate for us. 

 

 

My wife does not snorkel, so she just stayed on the ship during the optional deep water snorkel.  I was then buddied up with another person.

It was hot when we were there in February 2019.  I did not use the wetsuit, just swim trunks.  However, I was the only one to do so.

1 minute ago, wpgcycler said:

 Yeah, my question is not so much about the selection but rather is there a bar where they're certain to have the full selection as in the original incarnation of Michaels. I've seen a list that suggests many of the interesting beers are available in Cellar Masters but nothing about where the Whisky's went. 

Most of the bars have them outside of the Martini Bar.  On the Summit, both of the outside bars had them.

Not a huge selection of whisk(e)ys.  The Macallan they had is targeted towards the travel industry called Quest.  I was not impressed with it.  You might find some Woodford Double Oaked.  I once asked for a whiskey and coke to see what they would give me.  She poured Seagram's 7.  I had to pour it down the drain.  🤣

I think someone posted in another thread that it was Havensight.  That is what I am hoping as we were just in Crown Bay and there is not much going on over there.

I am going to go against the grain and say that I like the updates.  But I like modern contemporary.

We are just off the Summit and thought the service was just fine.

My only complaint was the stupid chair that did not slide under the desk in the sky suite.  That is my big "what were they thinking" moment.

Weather on this cruise was just about perfect.  I think we had one 30 minute segment of liquid sunshine.

I do agree about the Evian.  We were often denied Vitamin Water Zero.  It was like they had one case on board. That was disappointing. 

I really don't trust that they give you the premium beverages unless you ask specifically about them.

I will say that our wine service was excellent in Luminae.

We received the same information last week while sitting in St. Thomas.  Very disappointed at this point as it is the busiest port in the Caribbean and we booked the cruise solely for the smaller ports.  This plus the increase in tipping makes me not impressed with Windstar so far. Oh well, first world problems.

1 minute ago, stah1mr said:

How many shares do you need to own to get this perc?  How do they know you actually own shares?  Shareholder database?  Thanks!

I am pretty sure it is 100 across the industry.

I have just given them a redacted finance statement with the relevant info showing.  But I am always denied anyways.  🙂

In my experience, selection across all beverages is hit and miss depending on the supply chain.

I have never been impressed with their beer selections.  The wine is ok for what it is.  And I wouldn't call their premium liquors top shelf.  But at the price I am paying for them relatively speaking, I think it fits the model.

9 days and counting!

We did it several years ago on the Equinox.

It was a decent time.  As others have stated, it was some stations of white and red and you just walked around and sampled them.  I would not equate it to being educated on the wines, rather a wine drinking hour.  The knowledge was not there even compared to my local liquor store when they do tastings.

We had the premium beverage package. In hindsight, it was kind of a waste of money.However, our sommelier was very nice throughout the cruise and we bought it from her.  I know they get the gratuity / kickback on their sales, so I have no issues with the money we spent. 

Ugh.  That is too bad for everyone involved.

We were looking forward to going there on our Feb cruise.  Hopefully, everyone will be comfortable with returning by then!

It is not much different than the regular boarding.  There are a lot of lines for the different categories.  Just follow the signs.  The terminal is so small and the Summit is small as well that we have been on board within 20 minutes no matter what class we are sailing in.

The only main difference that I remember is that there is a "separate line" for the initial security check in.  Which really means that it gets you to the front of the regular line.

We usually get over there around 11:45 or so in time for lunch.

I booked three excursions at the last sale.

I went and checked all of the prices.  One was the same as the last sale.  The next was actually more expensive than the last sale.  And one was cheaper than the last sale.  So I rebooked that one.

3 hours ago, TFLG said:

 

 

Yea, that's not a bad list,  if only they actually had the stuff.  They usually have one Macallan and it's typically the Select Oak. I've never seen Quest and I thought that was only available at Duty free shops.  It's the only place I've seen it and I bought a bottle on my last 2 trips down under. The World Class and Ensemble lounge usually have the best selection good luck getting anything decent at the other bars.

Yeah, I board the Summit in 30 days.  I think I am going to take this list and see where I can actually find the Wisk(e)ys.

5 minutes ago, PelicanLvr said:

But the Big advantage is not having 4 sea days (2 down and 2 back) needed for a Florida departure.  Some love sea days....4 is too many for us.

 

We love the SJU based Summit cruises and would welcome more ships home-ported in the Caribbean.   You spend the entire cruise in the beautiful tropical weather!

I agree it is all about what you want.  We do the summit cruises out of SJU quite a bit.  But there are a lot of times I weigh in the full day of travel and more hotel / meal costs vs. the direct flight to Florida.

Every time I look at flights to some of the further islands (St. Marteens, Barbados, Martinique, St. Thomas) so I can try some other smaller cruise lines, I shake my head at the cost / logistics of getting down there.  🙂

21 hours ago, Fouremco said:

The most interesting part of this news in my view is the possibility that the cruise port could be "a potential homeport for Southern and Eastern Caribbean-focused ships". We've enjoyed several land vacations there, and have visited on many cruises, so the thought of combining the two is very appealing. A week in an AI followed by a week's cruise (or vice versa) would be terrific.

Interesting thought.  What about the flight differences coming from the US?  I have found even going to San Juan is significantly more expensive and time consuming than flying down to FLL/MIA.  In some cases, it is more effective to take a 10/11 day cruise out of Florida than fly down to SJU for a 7 day cruise.

2 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

I certainly understand that each person has their drink preferences and spending issues.   

1) For example, my wife and I don't drink umbrella drinks or mixed drinks (except for a rare martini).  We drink mostly wine, with an occasional scotch and water.  Also, we drink the ship's tap water and don't drink expensive coffees or soda.

2) I realize that many like the packages so they don't have to do the accounting of what the true cost is.  I don't mind doing this, since the less we spend on a trip, the more trips we can make.   I see some cruises where adding the promos like beverage packages can cost almost as much as the cruise itself.  When I purchase a new car or refrigerator, or a cruise or even go to a restaurant, price is a major factor in my decision.   If you can save hundreds of dollars on this decision, but refuse to do the accounting, you may be sticking it to yourself (not sticking it to the cruise line).

Yep!  Everyone is going to have their own approach and decision on if the beverage package is worth it to them.

Part of my issue is that I am anal retentive enough to try and keep track of every drink in my head for every day.  It is comparable to getting a taxi vs. hiring a car service.  Getting the taxi will most likely be cheaper, but I am going to stress out while watching the meter constantly tick.  And I go on vacation to relax.  🙂

Cheers, everyone!