Xcitdcruiser

Oh no! I'm not sure what happened! It was dive when I left it last night. Any ideas?? I'll log onto my photobucket account & hopefully can figure it out :(

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Celebrity Today

After our day in Barbados we were grateful to be greeted on board with cold towels to cool down. Our first stop was Cafe Al Bacio. Visiting this place after each long day became a ritual. We would sit by the floor to ceiling windows & place our order. I’m surprised that it was never busy. DH ordered his espresso (/ short black) & i had learnt to order my soy latte in a cappuccino cup. I’ve recently read that the service at Cafe Al Bacio has been mediocre – we had the same waitress each day & found her to be outstanding. We always received with a smile & our coffees were never far away. We enjoyed heading there & recapping our day. I even started bringing my journal to note the day’s events. What I would do to be back!

Tonight we were dining at The Normandie. We booked on embarkation day & got 20% off. All i had heard of this establishment was that it was French. Based on that alone i thought i should dress up & i’m very glad i did. Every guest was dressed to impress even thought its dress code is ‘Smart Casual’.

The tables were scattered – a very different vibe compared to Blu. Each table had complete privacy setting up an intimate experience. The table was set up for formal dining completed with Riedel glassware. Staff had come to introduce themselves within minutes of being seated.

Now for the food!

To start I enjoyed the Pan Seared Pork Belly & DH the Diver Scallop Wellington Style. The portions were small but the quality & presentation was unrivalled. We contemplated splurging on the Caviar but for an extra $99 (more than the total cost of the meal) we decided to pass. Next were our mains; I thoroughly enjoyed Hazelnut Coated Lamb Rack & DH the Muscovy Duck Breast. We would have licked our plates should it have been acceptable! :p For the cheese course a trolley/cart came around where you could select whatever your heart desires in addition to dry fruits as an accompaniment. I stood down for this course (soya cheese anyone?) & DH tasted some of the recommended cheeses. After a little break we headed in for dessert. Although not on the menu they arranged the best sorbet with berries i have ever had & DH decided on the chocolate sorbet. By this time we were about to burst. I also felt silly for thinking that the portions were small! :o We were ready to go but I was surprised by a small chocolate mud cake with a candle & a number of staff singing happy birthday! Our waiter apologised profoundly that i wasn’t actually able to eat the cake (fine by me!) so DH had a little slice instead.

The service was the best we had on the entire cruise. There was so ‘over service’ but there was always someone there should you had needed something. The sommelier was amazing, recommending different wines for each course with its matching Riedel glass. The food – simply divine; keeping in mind that i have many dietary requirements, they were able to cater for me without a problem- nor did they make me feel like i was missing out on anything (like Qsine). By the end of our trip we decided that this dining experience was amongst the best we have ever had. If i have one recommendation for your Summit cruise it’s to visit The Normandie – simple superb! :D

We basically rolled to our cabin that room & fell into a nice deep sleep ready for the day next – St Lucia!

I'm sorry that you had a headache and didn't get to finish - we leave tonight, so I guess I'll have to read the rest when I return!

 

Thanks so much for posting what you did so far, as it was a great view of the sea day and some of the menus, and I love your style!

I hope that you had a great trip - I think you may have taken all of this thread's readers with you! :p

I'm looking forward to hearing all about your cruise when you get back! :)

Patiently waiting for your next update :) :)

 

Hope you are feeling better.

 

Also - maybe I missed it - but what is the brand of champagne beer? I've never heard of it, but I"ll have to try to find it on Summit in January I guess. Maybe sooner if I can find it in the grocery store here.....I bet either World of Beer or Total Wine would have it in my neck of the words.

 

brand and pic or link would be much appreciated ;)

Thank you for your patience -I'm feeling much better & back in full swing!

The beer is called 'Deus Brut des Flanders Cuvee - Biere de Champagne'

I don't have an image of the beer itself, but it is listed on the top of this menu.

Let me know how you go!

Thanks for a great review and really enjoying the photos! We recently booked a B2B on the Summit for next March so looking to gather all the tips we can. And yes I always travel with a binder of detailed info and a spreadsheet detailing daily activities.... :rolleyes:

It's my pleasure to be able to share. A B2B - super lucky! - That would be amazing - I'm sure that you will have a blast! People may roll their eyes at us organised types, but we have the last laugh when we know our options :D

Don't you dare apologize, the work you're putting into this report is fantastic and picture reviews are the best!!!!!

Thank you very much for your kind words. I hope you enjoy the rest of it as much as you enjoyed it up until now! :)

It was time to enjoy the spread that Gina had prepared. True to her word almost a year ago she had my requirements down packed. I missed out on the banana bread at the beginning of the day but this lunch certainly made up for it. It was wholesome & tasty! There was chicken, salads & rice. She had even prepared a separate salad of me which I could eat. There was also dessert & was sweet enough to organise a happy birthday tune with a candle to a fellow cruise critic member (happy birthday again!!).

After lunch we jumped & ‘bombed’ into the Barbados water to enjoy it for one last time. Pretty sure i made the bigger splash. It was cold!! But we had a lot of fun. The way back was my favourite part of this excursion, we sat on the net at the front & literally watched the world go by. It was truly spectacular. That moment is one we remember fondly. We were so lucky to have been able to experience it.

DH enjoying life

The Summit awaiting us

Somehow i haven’t made a point of it yet but it deserves a mention– the drink service – impeccable! I was drinking a ‘special’ rum punch (unbelievable!) & my empty glass was being replaced by a full one before i had even realised it was empty! It was also what was helping me warm up before lunch ;)

The afternoon has passed by way too quickly. It was time to thank Gina & her crew man for all of their help & making this day one to truly remember. (By the time I arrived home Gina had sent her recipes through on email as well as all the pictures that the crew had taken on board that day – great touch!)

On the shuttle back we asked to be dropped in town rather than the port. We decided we would take the opportunity to have a look around. DH though it had plenty of character. I’m not sure what i was expecting, but maybe a little cleaner? We didn’t hang around for too long & easily caught a taxi back to the port.

So a quick recap of what I initially thought Barbados would be all about & how it measured up!

Pristine beaches - stunning but colder than expected!

Rihanna - didn’t see her.

Turquoise water - gorgeous

Rum – Yum!

Reggae – relaxing. Set the mood perfectly.

Next installment will be dinner at The Normandie!

Once I was satisfied I had enough pictures to create a makeshift aquarium I hopped out back into the boat. I was getting cold & sore from all of smacking around & knew it was time. If I had to compare this snorkelling stop to our experience with the turtles in Culebra, Culebra wins hands down. There is something about coming across creatures in their natural habitat that cannot be replicated. Should i have not had the experience in Culebra I may have enjoyed this much more. Still not too sure about underwater kung fu fighting though!

Back on the boat it was a short trip to our next stop, snorkelling amongst the shipwrecks. For each shipwreck there was an associated story. The only one i remembered had something to do with cocaine (that’s all I’ve got :() I’m embarrassed to say at this point i was too cold to go back into the water. Lame, i know. DH didn’t miss the opportunity & jumped in. He said that he loved it & it was the best snorkelling out of the whole trip! Unfortunately he didn’t take the camera with him so have no images to share.

Once everyone we were off again, we enjoyed laying back, listening to the sounds of reggae in the background & stories of the rich & famous in Barbados. We went past Sandy Lane, where Tiger Woods was married. During peak season one night costs $3,000 per night for a minimum of 14 nights. To pay golf there, it’s $1,000 per round but there was a minimum of 4 people required to play. We were also told a story (which i still remember) – the cousin of a crewman works at the restaurant there – one night a guest ordered a couple of bottles of wine which he understood, were $1,700 each but were actually $17,000 each. A scene was brewing & another guest close by asked the waiter (the said cousin) what the commotion was about. He explained it to which the guest answered to the likes of: if he wants to pay $1,700 a bottle charge him that & I’ll take care of the rest if it means I could enjoy my meal in peace. So there you have it. Guests at Sandy Lane can afford to pay $30,000 for two bottles of wine that they don’t even drink!!

Speechless.

We arrived at our next destination where we would have lunch, just off a beach which we could swim but deep enough to jump off & have a splash around – our view.

It was time to enjoy the spread that Gina had prepared. True to her word almost a year ago she had my requirements down packed. I missed out on the banana bread at the beginning of the day but this lunch certainly made up for it. It was wholesome & tasty! There was chicken, salads & rice. She had even prepared a separate salad of me which I could eat. There was also dessert & was sweet enough to organise a happy birthday tune with a candle to a fellow cruise critic member (happy birthday again!!).

We were so excited today – our first port day! The best way to start the day is by having breakfast in Blu. Blu has 2 x types of bacon on their menu (didn’t think we’d actually get to choice OF bacon!) I don’t recall what they were actually called (sorry!) but I randomly picked one – it ended up being SUPER crunchy – YUM! I didn’t eat very much as I was conscience that I had not eaten a breakfast in Blu & was unsure how my tummy was going to react. I had some herbal tea which was divine & some apple juice. The worst apple juice I have ever tasted. This was one thing that Celebrity can change – apple juice fans worldwide would rejoice!

Before I go on, I’ll provide some insight into how I selected we spend each day. After a few hours / days / research the information available & options at each port became overwhelming. Before I knew it I just about lined up 5 days of back to back excursions that were 8 hours long. Each. This was going to be a tiring trip. Then I had a flashbulb moment – I don’t want to be tired after this cruise, I want to be relaxed! I want to enjoy each day & not regret burning myself out by trying to see & do too much. So I went back to basics & decided to start small. Which islands HAD we heard of & wanted to explore, which hadn’t we & were happy to relax. So I’ll start off each port with some key words that we used as inspiration.

What we thought of when we heard Barbados: Pristine beaches, Rihanna, turquoise water, rum, reggae. So off I went to find something that would either reflect this or bring us back to reality.

Once I started searching for what to do in Barbados, two things stood out – heading to the Boatyard, a popular beach stop with water activities. A minimal entry fee which in turn provides you with a chair, shared umbrella & a shuttle bus back to the ship. The beach had an ocean trampoline, iceberg, & rope swing. This sounded like fun. Except I couldn’t get past the number one rated excursion in Barbados – the Calabaza Sailing Cruise. The only reason people wouldn’t use them is because they couldn’t get ON it. When I realised this I automatically decided that Calabaza was my no. 1 choice & should it not be available, off to the Boatyard we would go.

11 MONTHS prior to our cruise I sent off an email request enquiring about availability during our day in Barbados. Although other days in February were booked up, we were in luck!

For a $110 you get a 5 hour lunch cruise with 12 guests onboard & 3 crew on hand. Intimate much? Transfers to & from the port are included as well as an open bar. This sounded great! I shared the info our roll call & soon enough, many months in advance this excursion was booked up.

The pick up from the port at 9am went off without a hitch. Upon boarding your shoes are taken off & you are introduced to Gina, the crew & all the in’s & out’s of the catamaran. Unfortunately it wasn’t a very warm morning & the first stop was very close by (no time to warm up!) – swimming with the turtles! We were provided with all the snorkelling equipment you would need – vest, mask, noodle & even a floating device that attached to my underwater camera so it wouldn’t sink!

We jumped in & the water was not as warm as I envisioned. There were A LOT of people around. It was very crowded - I was getting smacked by fins, noodles & waving arms. Staff members (from our & other excursions) started releasing food...then...masses of turtles start appearing. (still unsure of how I feel about feeding wild turtles) And the crowd goes wild. Literally. The sight of the turtles made this experience ‘almost’ worthwhile. There were many of them swimming around..

Then, out of nowhere i look beneath my feet & this MASSIVE turtle is swimming below me... & I panic. It was about 1 metre long & half a meter wide– the biggest turtle I have EVER seen. Bigger than what i ever imagine a turtle to be! It was HUMONGOUS. Get the picture?

So back to it!

Celebrity Today -

Hi All,

I'm very sorry for the abrupt halt on the review - I know it can be annoying only read a portion & waiting to hear the rest..

Last week I my mum was admitted to hospital so I had to take the next flight over to be with her. She's improving, but I had to return to work & landed back home late last night.

I have a bit of catching up to do at home (ok, a LOT) but will get back to the review hopefully in the next few days as things settle down. Truth be told, sharing our trip perks me up & I certainly need that at the moment!

I will try to respond to questions during my lunch break to save on time at home ;)

Many thanks,

Xcitdcruiser

Ps. I should also mention, I did what any good daughter would during my time away & convinced my parents to book a med cruise - they need something to look forward to!

Thanks for the wonderful report so far. DW and I are leaving on 4/19. It will be our 3rd time on the Summit and second time with your itinerary. I'm looking forward to reading your reports of the islands through your eyes!

It's my pleasure! I had a massive headache last night & ended up in bed at 9pm so apologies for the no update.

Your cruise will be here in no time - enjoying the excitement build up :D

Wishing you & your family all the best Andy

Thank You for the beer menu's. My husband likes craft beers as well and had not seen these posted anywhere. I am sad about the Towel animals - on our last cruise (with HAL) we got one every night and the kids loved the pics of them when we got back + I always looked forward to coming to our room each night to see what animal our steward had made..

I'm glad I could help - I know I would have loved to have shown DH the menu's prior to the cruise to get his excitement levels up!

I know towel animals are seen t be dorky & all that, but as a new cruiser it made me smile! :)

Awesome! I'm not a beer drinker by nature, but always love to try new things, and they've got a great selection - thanks for posting!

 

Sorry you had trouble finding food to eat, it must be difficult relying on someone else to tell you what is safe or not...and not really knowing for sure...I'm glad you found some things to like, can't wait to read more!

 

3 more sleeps!

I also don't enjoy beer - not girly enough for me :D Although, saying that I can recommend the Champagne beer as well as the Framboise - very sweet! Doesn't taste like beer at all!

The good news for me is that my food luck changed from this day forwards. In fact, I'll go as far as to say I would return JUST for the food! It's all coming....;)

Champagne beer!!!

 

I got off the Summit a few weeks ago and I loved loved loved the champagne beer. Its hard to explain but it just worked for some reason. I had the premium package and only had one or two issues with them charging me when they shouldn't have and it was cleared up easily at the front desk.

 

Your report has been great, thanks for all the detail and effort you are putting into it, a fun read!

Thank you for the compliment :o

I was confused about the concept 'Champagne Beer' but I'm glad I tried it & as you say, it just works!

Yes' date=' I think we have a good cruise group on CC for the Summit next week. We had all of our excursions planned ( I am very much like you, binder all tabbed and highlighted with things to do and different options.) Just got an e-mail from the Dominica operator canceling the tour due to family of 6 canceling. Aghh so now trying to re-book. Anyway - my e-mail is mapetry@live.com. Can't wait for the rest of your story....

That is very annoying - so close to the cruise! I guess they have given you warning & didn't tell you on the day of. I guess by being a part of private tours you always run that risk - but as I found out, it was completely worthwhile!

There's 125 of us signed up through Cruise Critic for the connections party - that's quite a lot! We're really excited to be part of such an active group!

This cruise sounds like it's going to be an absolute blast! I hope you had a great time & looking forward to reading all about it on your return :D

This review is so much fun to read. I have started my bible for our April transatlantic. I had things printed and info but hadn't organized them yet. Your tips were helpful

I am glad that you are enjoying the read. I always feel so much better travelling when I know I'm organised :)

I hope you have a great cruise in April!

After Michael’s we headed to back to our room to find this little guy on our bed. Weirdly enough I got really excited! Unfortunately for me, it was the first & last time a towel animal appeared.

Also there was this canvas handbag – it actually folds up into a envelope sized – it was perfect to fit our beach towels in. I ended up giving this to mum & she was SO happy. If i had realised how happy she would have been with a Celebrity branded bag i wouldn’t have had to buy her the Longchamp bag we purchased for her!

So that was our sea day. Quiet, relaxing & enjoyable - a perfect start to our upcoming ports days.

First up will be Barbados! Stay tuned :D

Apologies if these menu's are no interest to you but DH insisted that they would make SOMEONE happy...

I'll note here that my drink was over the $14 limit for premium beverage package. I was expecting to pay the difference but later on according to our account on the tv they had actually charged us the full amount. We had every intention of rectifying it but the charge was reversed.

Wo hoo! Sea day! Our first full day of relaxation – except that we quickly figure out that we didn’t know how to relax. We were finding it difficult to stay in the one spot without feeling guilty. Welcome to the world of cruising? :cool:

We woke up ‘late’ & headed to Blu for breakfast (around 9am?). Except Blu finished service early today due to the big MDR brunch. We missed breakfast! NNoooooo!!! So then we went to the Aqua Sap Cafe. I was very surprised that the only thing i would eat there was poached fruit. Mmmm. So far, food wise, I was not impressed. By the time we left we headed to the Brunch so highly spoken of. We walked in & it was VERY busy. We walked around a little & looked at the craftsmanship. I don’t eat at buffets, find that there is too much cross contamination – i could have asked for staff assistance but they were running around – it was VERY busy in there. We didn’t want busy, DH had already eaten so we left. This was the only time during the entire cruise that i can honestly say i was hungry. We spent some time in our room & before we knew it was midday.

DH had signed up to Poker tournament with a buy in of $60. I took this chance to go exploring on my own. Which really meant checking out the Aqua Spa Cafe for food J There is a ‘standard’ menu with the a few of the options changing daily. This place confused me. There were two separate ordering areas each serving a specific selection off the menu. I won’t be able to tell you which was which – all i know is that each time i went to order something I would be told to go to the other area. One time I got asked to go to the OTHER counter – AGAIN. There was a particular staff member here who did not have much patience for the newbie’s & during my time there I saw him scare quite a few people away with his abruptness. I think they could definitely do with some signage.

I ordered the shrimp & mango a la carte menu item – it was made fresh with a 15 minute wait. Sounded perfect. I noticed that there was a dessert, a coconut rice dessert – without gluten NOR dairy! Winning! I also ordered the ’serenity’ smoothie. I found a nice quiet spot facing the ocean & awaited my order. Did I mention that I was starving at this point?

This was my main meal that arrived

I don’t think it could have been any smaller should I had asked for it to be portioned out! I ate it all in about 2.5mins. Garnish included.

I turned to my smoothie for some consolation. It was the most horrible drink I had tasted – the soy milk was so watery & the green tea flavour was simply not enjoyable. Ultimate fail. I looked at the dessert & wondered whether to bother. I decided to go with it. Now this dish was saved my mood – it was SO yummy! It took a little longer to eat & enjoyed every mouthful. I now knew what i like from the Aqua Spa cafe & each day I came back in hope that this dessert was the pick of the day. I was lucky a few more times.

The Aqua Spa Cafe drinks menu

It was 1pm & decided to go back to the casino to see whether DH had won some retirement funds. Zilch. And he wasn’t happy about it either! He thought he was SO close...

At 2.45pm we joined the Galley Tour- which attracted A LOT of people. It was the other time on the cruise that it felt crowded. It started in the MDR as we were handing coloured tickets on the way in. Whilst we waited for our ticket colour’ to be called out there was a bit of a Q & A. It was our turn to go through the galley & it was uneventful. We didn’t end up with a charismatic guide, so that may have played a part in it. A few things we learnt:

• Employees work 10 -12 hours on a pot day & between 12-14 on a sea day or turn around day
  
• Just about everything is made onboard (walked past the bakery section & it smelt AH-MA-ZING)
  
• The ship can stock up to 14 days at anytime
  
• They go through ‘checks’ – the last one resulted a score of 98% - the points lost were due to dimmed lighting in the staff area & some broken tiles – so not food related
  

The Galley was interesting to tour & glad we did so, but i don’t think we would go again on another cruise.

Time to get acquainted with the Sunset Bar – some Pina Colada’s were ordered & we enjoyed them on our balcony for a pre-dinner drink. Tonight was formal night so I took the opportunity to get dolled up. DH wasn’t keen on bringing formal clothes so we were prepared to eat in Blu. Although Blu is smart casual, we found that most of the guests WERE dressed up. DH felt out of place. I had pre-ordered my meal earlier that day (cannot remember now sorry!) & DH had the crab risotto which was nice, but nothing special. As posted on these boards most tables are set up for two people but close enough to other tables so that you can strike up a conversation easily enough, or not. As it was our first night in Blu we appreciated the surroundings but were still in discovery mode. Next up – Michael’s Club!

DH is a beer connoisseur & was very much looking forward to this. He was very impressed by the selection. I believe that they are eliminating this area & it will be a real shame. It looks like they didn’t even give the concept a real go by its placement on the ship & opening hours. We enjoyed some time there whilst i drank...wait for it...a champagne beer.

Some images of the menu:

I'll start off with our resources for the day

I too am also leaving Friday for a Summit cruise out of San Juan.. You have to tell me where you got the best massage.... I am a massage junkie - always looking for the best one....

Great Review.. and love the pictures..

THANK YOU - for taking to time to do this. And congratulations on your marriage...

I'm sure that you will have a great cruise! Thank you for you wishes - being married is fun :) Actually it's really no different to not being married - the biggest difference is that I have more diamonds & we got to have a trip to celebrate! :D

Re the massage - Hint - it was NOT on the ship. Have you organised all of your shore excursions? I don't think I will get 'there' before Friday....Is there a way I can contact you......?

Please don't feel you have to apologize' date=' I'm just excited to hear your review of the ship! Thanks so much for taking the time to post your thoughts and pictures! 5 more days![/quote']

 

Those 5 days will come in a blink of an eye! I promise there will be more to read about before you depart. ;)

 

There seems to be a lot of CC on the same cruise this weekend - hope you all have a great time!

 

 

I also get cross when dairy is added to so many recipes.

I bought some Lactaid pills when we were in USA recently. They seem to be working for hidden ingredients- i.e amounts of cheese in salads. I now drink milk treated with the lactase enzyme ( instead of Soya) and that is definitely helpful, so the Lactaid pills will be 'tested' slowly with various foods.

I've never been brave enough to try those tablets - I figured that if my body is telling (very clearly) that it doesn't like something there is no use trying to trick it! Of course as a result I don't get to eat some of the amazing foods out there :(

But a lettuce leaf as a taco shell?? Come on! Corn crisp would be 100% better!

Thank you, reading this is like being on vacation yourself. I'm finding it really relaxing and exciting all at the same time

 

looking forward to the next installment

I'm glad I could take you on vacation :p

There have been many reviews that have given me the same feeling so I really wanted to give back to the community. I hope you enjoy the rest of 'our' cruise! ;)

Awesome review. We fly to San Juan on Friday.

 

Bistro on 5 question: What time did you go? The daily states the hours are 2 pm to 12:30 am. We really want to go there for a noon lunch on embarkation day.

 

Can you confirm those hours? Does anyone else know why they would not open till 2?

 

Thanks.

Bistro 5 - by the time we arrived it was well past 2pm. I'm not sure why it wouldn't be open before 2pm. I know that staff are working overtime on embarkation day so that may be a factor. Should you be hungry at noon you could have an appetizer (or entrée for the aussies) at the Oceanview , check out your cabin, drop your hand luggage off & by the time that is all done it will be 2pm. And if not, a cocktail may help fill the time?

Have a safe flight on Saturday!

Did you miss sail away? We usually skip dinner on the first night so we can be on deck for sail away. It's so cool sailing past the fort at night with it all lit up and then you get out into the sea and everything is pitch black and you can see tons of stars.

Skip dinner? I couldn't do that - love my food WAY too much! ;)

It was actually raining during sail away - there was an announcement that the 'party' was moving (I think to an indoors location/lounge) but we stayed in our cabin & could see the pretty lights from our balcony.

The stars - yes - I forgot about them! They were so bright throughout the cruise- it was amazing just to sit & look up ...ahhh the memories...!

Somehow or another, I completely missed pages 4 and 5 earlier. I just saw them. :D

 

Thank you for the stateroom photos. My brother and sister-in-law have 1140 on an upcoming cruise on the Constellation. Now I will be able to show them photos of what their stateroom and balcony look like. Do you have any other photos of the stateroom (perhaps looking back into the room from the balcony) and of the bathroom?

Lucky you checking back in then ;)

Apologies but I don't have any more images although this thread helped me a great deal when selecting our AFT so it may also help you. I have every intention of heading back & posting images there when I'm finished here.

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1629443

I did try to take an image of the bathroom but it was very awkward, the only decent angle I could get was of the toilet itself! The size of the bathroom surprised me, it was quite small & boxy, but after a few hours in the room you realise that it is highly functional for what you need it to do!

The rooms were small to us, muggy, and dark. The bathroom was small and the shower leaked out lukewarm water. We had reserved one of their Supreme rooms with a balcony. The balcony looked out onto some apartment balconies (I mean within 20' of us) and some roof tops. Service was OK, but there was a great bellman that turned out to be our "go to" person for information. The desk staff was not helpful, both at check-in or when we tried to change rooms.

 

We have stayed in much nicer places in the San Juan area. Our favorite being the El Conquistador in Fajardo. The least expensive (Priceline) and nicest room we have ever stayed in was the Caribe Hilton on the water near the cruise port.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. ;)

Shame re the hotel. I would really expect a lot more for it's price. Now that you mention it, VH's room were not very bright - I remember trying to put on make up & gave up because I was scared of what I would look like in day light!

Looking forward posting the rest for your reading pleasure :D

Don't apologise, your photos are great, thank you for the information on the diffuser.

Loving your review, our cruise isn't until January so we have a long wait but that's half the fun.

I do have more questions but I will wait until you get to those places in your review! That way we can stay on topic.

No problem! I'm glad you are enjoying it. Posting the review & answering questions helps me re-live our trip!

January will come by in no time - enjoy the planning :)