cruisin 07

Both times on Summit it has been 11 am.

Sailed on Summit this past Oct and Jan. The only negative as already mentioned is lack of cover for sunset bar. Not only to get out of the sun but this past Jan there were frequent rain showers during the day which left only about 6 tables that kept dry. Staff had to rush to remove cushions and everyone moved tables under the dry area making the area extremely crowded to were you could barely get to the bar.. After a few minutes the sun comes out and the tables and chairs are all wet and not usable.

Just off Summit last Oct.  Dress code for main ding room is on Celebrity website and app. Even printed on the back of the Table Reservation card in cabin. Dress code I saw in MDR is as follows.  I saw some men wearing ball caps, shorts and even flip flops. When I inquired about it to the maitre I was basically told they don't turn anyone away.

It didn't affect our dinning experience.

I wore pants with a nice button down shirt each night. 

In fact will be back on the Summit this coming Sat.

It has always been for years that only registered boats were allowed in the marine park. 

 You cannot just hire a boat to take you anywhere, it has to be a registered with the authorities.  They are enforcing this.  All registered boats will have a flag with their registration number on it.  

This will cut down on those abusing the system. Just wish the $2 per day park fee would stay on the island to preserve it vice going to MX city or other places.

Thanks for all the replies. Ship arrives Nov 2020. Had not thought about fog.

Constellation docks at 8 am on a Sat. We have Global Entry and TSA precheck. Is a 11:55 flight to early. First time cruising out of Tampa.

Title says it all. Just wondering which dive op they use since the excursion for diving just went on sale.

Was told the same today. Web site didn't show on line.

Just checked for our Nov 14 sailing out of Tampa. It would cost $218.73 more with the only addition the WiFi. We don't get WiFi anyway so not worth it to us. Glad it worked for others.

Thanks for your input omeinv.

This was the first time to both of these island. I know lots of folks went cars in Bonaire to shore dive or snorkel. If you research all reefs are shown and there are yellow rocks on the road that identify them.

Curacao I would do a tour for a beach day with great snorkeling.

All luggage out by the time we left the ship

Visiting St Thomas, Antigua, Martinque, St Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent, and Maarten. Looking for recommendations for dive ops and islands not to miss and others that diving isn't that great. After all have to spend some time ashore with my wife.

Prefer dive Ops that pick up at terminal vice having to take a taxi.

Thanks

Forgot to mention. We ordered room service for breakfast one morning. They called to let us know it was on its way and arrived less than 5 mins later. Egg still hot and juice cold.

We were seated on deck 5 on the MDR with our table #472 of two next to the opening looking down on Deck 4 MDR. So it was really open since we could just look across to the other side of deck 5 or down on deck 4. There was a table for 2 next to us. And yes very close like someone mentioned inches. We were fortunate that those occupying this table were the same every night and very friendly and we got along. 

As soon as the ship docked luggage started coming off. I watched it from my balcony. It was done by the time we got off the ship. No Global Entry since you are still in the US.

Yes out of San Juan. Our boarding time was 2:00. We just checked out of the hotel and went right over in the morning.

Forgot to mention we did enjoy the cruise very much. It was our first Celebrity cruise

St Kitts -Dive with Kenneth. Short walk to marina to board boat. Catamaran with lots of room. Center bench seating with tanks on both sides. Out board just seating. Dry area for storage. Separate camera tank from mask rinse bucket. 2 tank dives. Side jump to enter and ladder to board. First dive further out in harbor with lots of reef sharks looking to be fed speared lion fish. Visibility just ok. Second dive a wreck closer to shore. Visibility poor. This was due to rain storms days before. This was my 4^th diving experience and have had a lot better visibility in the past. Very professional outfit. Ran credit card on board after dives and docked. Had hose hook up to rinse gear. Had bottle water on board.

Aruba -S.E. Divers: Meet outside terminal gate for 2 tank boat dive. Short drive to shop on the beach. Departed at 9:36 am. Not an issue - a couple was getting their final briefing and water time before OW certification. Out of 6 divers I was the only one off a cruise ship. Reefs in good shape and visibility good. Nice large dive boat, Suit up and water enter from stern. Ladder return. Water and 4 kinds of fruit between dives. Sandwiches and juice pouches on way back to dock. Rinse tank and shower to rinse gear.

Curacao - Bas Hart Diving: Pick as schedule. A little after 8:30 am. Rob was driver and Private DM. Another couple joined us for just snorkeling. I was the only diver. Rob showed up with all equipment requested with a small cooler to keep drinks we brought off the ship cold. 2 shore dives. Reefs have sandy bottom. Both sites had chairs etc for rent which made it nice since my wife doesn’t dive or snorkel.

1^st dive up at west end. Between Playa Kalki and Grote Knip. Fisherman had a cleaning station and would feed the turtles with heads and guts. Water shallow and lots of turtles waiting to be fed. Diving was good with great visibility.

2^nd dive at B diving shop. Again, a great dive. Had multiply rinse tanks that we could use.

Bonaire - Buddy Dive: Short walk to dive shop, maybe 10 to 15 mins. I arrived early as I was the first one off the ship. Nice set up with rinse tanks in back. Buddy Dive does ship excursions, 2 tank boat dive – glad I went with a private DM. Dan was my DM and also driver, very professional and enjoyed the conversation between dive sites. Without hesitation would offer help if he thought I needed it. Their boat carries 24 and they had 21 divers from the cruise ship. I did 2 shore dives.

First dives are all at their house reef. Easy entry via stairs and a beautiful reef with no current the day I dived. In fact, we were ending our dive when the cruise ship divers passed us.

2nd dive by salt flats since a ship was at the pier getting loaded. Entry not bad. 2 reefs running parallel with a sandy bottom between them.

Conclusion: Enjoyed all the dives. Thought reefs in the ABC’s in a lot better shape than Cozumel where I dive for 3 weeks every year and other islands like the Cayman”s. Definitely will return - 1^st choice Bonaire and 2^nd choice Curacao. Doing shore dives also as a benefit got a scenic land tour.

Over the years have gained so much from CC forums. Thought I do a little pay back.

Embarkation: Arrived terminal 10:05 AM: 25 people in front of us. Not checking luggage or boarding until 11 AM was informed. At 10:30 about 50 people in line. They let those that had lined up early before they put out signs – like us – that were in the no luggage line go inside and check in if you were doing self-boarding. In other words, not checking any luggage. After this we were the only ones in the no luggage line with 4 bags to check. I know 4 is a lot but 2 were all my scuba and camera gear. I tipped porter $10 and he checked in our luggage. They started checking luggage at 10:45. Check in was a breeze with preprinted boarding passes and then waited to board. Very limited seating. Maybe 40 seats. 11:05 they let us board.

Could go to room and drop off your carry on. All rooms ready at 1 PM. Our luggage delivered at 2 PM.

Drill at 4:45 PM

Summit: Really enjoyed the ship. The only time felt crowded was sea days around pool. Did see crew members walking around pool picking up used towels on chairs that didn’t have any personal items on them. Décor was pleasing to the eye and crew always cleaning. Crew seemed happy to be on board. Always said hello when passing by. Plenty of bar servers walking around pool area and Oceanview Café.

Cabin 8088 a concierge class. Got it because of better location at same cost at purchase time of Veranda cabin. Very quiet cabin and great location. Received 2 bottles of wine, 1 boarding day and the other ½ through the cruise. Didn’t drink it. The only amenity we use was the requested cheese tray which arrive about 2 pm. Best when covered with plastic wrap vice metal plate cover. Stayed fresher.

Photo’s:  Dining Room ones $20 each. All others $25 each when purchased without a package.

Celebrity App. This is great. Did our pre boarding check in on it.  And once on the ship sign up at no cost. You have all types of info available. Ship deck plans, what’s happening throughout the day, when things open, menus at main dining room, your booked excursions and so much more.

Drink Package. We up graded to the Premium Package. Specify the liquor brand or you get the well brand. Can order doubles. No time limit between orders. Could order drink, water and soda at same time. Used a Yetti some bartenders would take the Yetti to make the drink others said you had to pour it into it from the glass. If that was the case, I would get my drink (a double) and a glass of ice and a coke and fill the Yetti  myself. Always asked for bottle water and sodas when ordering drinks to keep cabin stocked. Also, would order double shots neat to have in cabin. This way when back from diving I could make a drink while cleaning my gear.

Cruise critic meet and greet was at 9:30 am first sea day. All Department Heads of the ship were there and introduced by the captain. Met other CC members and could ask questions of crew members.

Cruise Critic Slot Pull: 32 participates at $15 each with 5 pulls each on Wheel of Fortune. Everyone doubled their money. Celebrity put up prizes for the 5 highest individual amounts. Think the highest was $100 in slot play.

Food: We are not foodies and really enjoyed everything we ordered. The one exception was the veal. Maybe because I never really eat it and wanted to try something different. All meats were cooked exactly as ordered and quite good.

     Oceanview Cafe: Not only did they have hand sanitizing stations when entering but also full-size sinks to wash your hands. Very well thought out. Over a dozen different food stations and at least 4 drink stations inside a large oval ring with seating on the outside. Each station has a sign stating what it is serving. Longest line I witness was the eggs made to order which was fast since he had 3 skillets going at once. We had no issues with finding quality food that we enjoyed eating.

     Cosmopolitan Main Ding Room:  We had early seating – 6 am. Nice décor, we were seated deck 5 for a table for 2. Expect to be there between 1:45 to 2 hrs each night depending how full the dining room is. Grilled chicken and New York sirloin on menu every night. We both enjoyed these 2. Ordered 2 entrees: lobster and beef wellington one night. Instead of 2 separate plates both entrees came on 1 plate with sides which was nice since not much space on table top.

     Dress code: Didn’t go on first night. Even though Celebrity website, phone app and on back of the Table Reservation with table number in cabin all list the proper dress code they didn’t enforce it. Saw men in shorts, hat and in some cases flip flops which is clearly stated not allowed in the evening hours. When I asked the maître was told they can’t watch everyone that enters and finally said they wouldn’t turn anyone away. If that’s the case just get rid of the dress code.

Shows: We didn’t attend any. Times just were not convenient for us. Halloween party was a great time. We along with many others dressed in costumes. Lots of fun.

OBC: OBC as a perk nonrefundable. Unused OBC given by TA was credited back to credit card on file.

TV

1     Navigation

2     Summit Channel

3     Shore Excursions

4     Port Shopping

5     Future cruise Vacation

6     Celebrity Channel

7     Families & Sea – Kids TV

8     Sea TV - Sitcoms

9     Food Network

10   HGTV

11   Travel Channel – Mostly ghost hunting

12   ITV Choice – British TV

13   Fox News

14   MSNBC

15   CNBC  

16   BBC World News

17   Prime Journeys

18   ESPN

19   ESPN 2

20   Special Events 1 - Sports

21   Special Events 2 - Sports

Disembarkation: You are given luggage tags with numbers. These numbers represent your disembarkation times. Really think you can walk off anytime you want.  Luggage out by 10 PM the night before. We left ship at 7:25, got a porter. Luggage set up by numbers given easy to locate. Porters have their own immigration line and then to waiting taxi. Taxi fare with 4 bags $25. Fare $19 + $2 gas surcharge + $4 for luggage. At airport was through agriculture inspection (don’t forget this step), airline ticket counter and TSA by 8 am.

Will be cruising on the Summit again that coming Jan 4th.

Off Summit in San Juan yesterday. Walked off ship at 7:25. Got a porter went right to our luggage which is under number assigned. Porters have there own customs line then to taxi and to airport. Put luggage through agriculture xray inspection, to airline ticket counter and final through TSA. We had TSA precheck. Done buy 8:05 and on way to our gate. Even though they have assigned times to disembark it seems you can leave when ever you want. Ours was 7:30.

Taxi: $19 flat rate + $2 gas surcharge + $1 per bag ($4) = Total $25 plus tip.

Hope this helps

Premium is now increased to  $15 vice $13. Classic is still $9.

Two FV cabins just opened up for my cruise at the end of the month. Currently in a C2 so called TA. Celebrity wanted an additional $919 to switch. I passed on it.

Special needs for Celebrity just responded for Summit cruise in a few weeks request. Will honor my distilled water and extension cord for my CPAC at no cost. Also asked for a footstool.  Told couldn't fill because there was non on board. At least I tried. Will go with the blow up beach ball now,

I use a Sealife DC2000 with twin strobes. Pictures are shot in RAW format.