Summit

[Riba]

We are thinking about going on the ll night cruise in February. Has anyone been on this cruise? Do they go through the locks of the Panama Canal or do you have to drive from Colon?Thanks for any information the board members can give me, I know you can be very helpful.

[JNLROSE]

Hi there!

 

I just did this cruise Feb 23-Mar 5th! They dock in Colon, they do not go into the canal. You would have to take a tour.

 

This was a GREAT cruise & the ship is fantastic--go for it.

 

Ask away if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them for you.

 

Hope this helps,

Rosie

 

E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

 

CELEBRITY MERCURY HERE I COME!!!

 

[kayakfam]

Hi Rosie!! Hi Riba -

 

We did the 11 night in December 2003 and loved it so much we booked the 10 night for October 2004. Can't wait. As for Panama, we hired a taxi to take us to the Gatun Locks. It is a nice facility and was enough to give you an idea of the "Panama Canal." We then took the taxi through the jungle to a deserted fort at the mouth of the Chagris River (my husband had been to Panama before and knew about it.) But I know others (you, Rosie?) went to the HUGE (and I mean HUGE) Duty Free Shopping Area in Colon. There is also a nice shopping area at the port.

 

Deb

[JNLROSE]

Hi Deb!

 

We did not go shopping in Panama. We went out into the canal on a boat & did the monkey watching along with experiencing the canal & everything it has to offer in wildlife & really see just how it "works". Both Panama & Costa Rica would not be places I would care to rush right off to visit again. We enjoyed them but saw all we cared to. Next time, maybe just stay on the ship or go to a nice beach for the day at some resort.

 

Rosie

 

E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

 

CELEBRITY MERCURY HERE I COME!!!

 

[kayakfam]

Rosie - We liked Costa Rica & Panama better than we originally thought we would. Probably wouldn't go again, though I'm glad we experienced it once. It "might" be interesting to take a cruise that actually goes through the Canal, but there are so many other places at the moment. We prefer snorkeling and the Caribbean islands are much better for that than the "mainland."

 

Deb

[PatC]

We did the Summit in March and took the domed train in Panama. It was wonderful and I thought worth the few extra $$$ for the dome car. The guide (Marty) was terrific and so knowledgeable. You get the train in Colon, travel 1 hour to the Pacific Ocean, take a 2 hour bus trip through the territory and then take the train back to Colon. Wouldn't do it again but it was very informative and worth seeing since we studied all about this in school. Too bad we turned it over, the poverty in Colon is horrendous. We have friends who were stationed there in the Air Force who told us that Colon was the major city before we pulled out. Such poverty!

 

Dolphin - 1990

Horizon - 1994, 1995, 1995

Century - 1997, 2000, 2001

Galaxy - 1998

Zenith - 1992, 1999, 2002

Millennium - 2003

Summit 2004

Summit 2005

 

Countdown to Summit 2005

 

[jeanarch]

We're booked on the 11 day Nov.15, 2004. Does anyone know how many formal nites on this cruise? 2 or 3. Appreciate any info.

 

Conquest 3/23/2003

Conquest 11/2002

Holiday 5/2002

Destiny 4/2001

Independence (Hawaii) 11/2000

[JNLROSE]

Geeze,

 

On the 11 night it is 3 formal nights!

 

Rosie

 

E-mail me <a href="mailto:JNLROSE@AOL.COM">here</a href>

 

CELEBRITY MERCURY HERE I COME!!!

 

[jeanarch]

Thanks.. oh well one more change..how fun...

 

Conquest 3/23/2003

Conquest 11/2002

Holiday 5/2002

Destiny 4/2001

Independence (Hawaii) 11/2000

[PatC]

Hi jeanarch

 

I had no problem with the extra dress-up night. I took a long black sheath dress with a short sleeve jacket, just changed the top on the next night. It packed great and had no wrinkles. Also, bring that wrinkle release. It works and you shouldn't have to send anything out. You can always get a long black skirt and change tops also. I'm doing this from now on, no big suitcases for me any more.

 

Dolphin - 1990

Horizon - 1994, 1995, 1995

Century - 1997, 2000, 2001

Galaxy - 1998

Zenith - 1992, 1999, 2002

Millennium - 2003

Summit 2004

Summit 2005

 

Countdown to Summit 2005

 

[kayakfam]

Is there only 2 formal nights on the 10 night cruise, then???? There are usually 2 formal nights on 7 night cruises, and with the 3 on the 11 night Summit cruise, I just assumed there would be 3 on our 10-night Summit cruise - no??? That would be a BIG help with packing. Whew!

 

Debbie

[Parrotgirl]

Debbie - yes there are 3 formal nights on the 10 day cruise.

[woodofpine]

I did this itinerary on Summit over new years '02-'03. The sea days are nicely interspersed with port days. It is not a Panama Canal cruise though it stops in Colon.

 

IMHO the nicest ports on the itinerary are the Caribbean ports Aruba and Grand Cayman (arguably the nicest most "upscale" ports in the entire caribbean).

 

The best Latin American port is unfortunately missed, magnificent exotic Cartagena. Cozumel is Cozumel (nice). Costa Rica is over-hyped. Nice people and interesting, but always hot, ground transport intense, and like much of Latin America = Litter America. Panama is lovely however Colon itself is a grimey third world dump. A fine place if you limit your interest to 40 cent beer and 10-20 dollar whores , otherwise unattractive to most cruise passengers (Cartagena's safer by far IMHO).

 

It is an interesting mix, a nicely paced internary, a fine ship.

[Ernie G]

Just returned today from the 11nt Summit cruise. It was wonderful. We didn't dock in Colon, due to heavy ship traffic, but we docked in Cristobal, which was new and very nice. The trip out to the locks by ferry that actually went through the locks was $154 pp. We thought that too much so we hired a cab to the Gatun Locks. We got to actually observe a ship of cargo coming through the locks. We were approximately 25' away from the edge. He spoke some english, after the locks he took us to the Melia Resort for lunch, and some shopping. He then drove us through the downtown area which was a little scary as it was very proverity stricken. He stayed with us for 4 hrs. and only charged $15 pp. There were 10 of us. It was fun, informative and affordable. I have his card and if you'd like his information, I'll be glad to get it once I am unpacked. If not, there are lots of tour companies at the port where you disembark the Summit. Hope this helps.

 

YES, there are 3 formals nights on the 11 nt. and 3 informal, 5 casual.

 

 

NEXT UP....SUMMIT 4/5/04

 

 

CRUISIN FOR LIFE....

 

HAL Ryndam 2/2000

HAL Zaadam 8/2000

Celebrity Infinity 10/2001

RCCL Rhapsody 11/2002

RCCL Majesty 8/2003

HAL Zuiderdam 10/2003

[PatC]

Ernie,

 

Oh how I wish we hadn't docked in Colon. We did the domed train which was wonderful but busing through Colon was tragic. What a pityful place! We didn't dock in Costa Rica because of the swells and the ship was late getting there because of a Coast Guard action taken the night before (they took off a Miami mob boss and 20 of his family). We never knew what was going on. It was really wierd, they were all in the lowest deck, cheapest cabins, staying under cover. Anyway, to make a long story short, didn't miss Costa Rica, didn't have any plans for there anyway but had open bar before both seatings for dinner that night. Much better offer!!!!

 

Dolphin - 1990

Horizon - 1994, 1995, 1995

Century - 1997, 2000, 2001

Galaxy - 1998

Zenith - 1992, 1999, 2002

Millennium - 2003

Summit 2004

Summit 2005

 

Countdown to Summit 2005

 

[cathykins]

We just got back from this sailing two days ago. Our second time on Summit, which we love dearly! We have now done both the ten and eleven day...I think we are ready for the THREE WEEK! (Just making that up....)

 

One word of advice...we signed up for the "Grand Tour of Panama" tour...I believe it was something like $110.00 per person. After I had signed up, I felt like a sucker and regretted that I had done so. To make a long story short, it was the best thing that we had done on our cruise. Yes, Grand Cayman and Aruba have better beaches (which we love) and newer and cleaner areas. But we got taken on a tour of the Canal and saw the ships going through and it was REALLY impressive. It was so intersting that I could have stayed there longer. Then they took us by bus on about a 15 minute drive to "Gatun Lake", the large Lake created by the flooding and building of the Panama Canal. They put us onto small boats (14 people or so) that were covered from the sun and took us around the placid lake, all the while telling us the history and pointing out interesting things about the native (and non-native) plants and animals. We saw a couple of Sloths in the trees...one was a mother with her baby that was hanging from a branch right over our boat), we saw monkeys and some different birds. It was really interesting. That lasted about 45 minutes. Then, we were told that we would be taken to a small Umbera Indian Village to see the Indians that were indigenous to Panama and that were living much the same way they have for hundreds of years.So, our little boats docked at a a small dock and we were greeted by native Umbera Indians. They seemed to be authentic, as many of the woman had no clothing on the top portions of their bodies and were suckling their children very comfortably. The little kids were laughing and running around and were the cutest little kids. Then there were a few simple structures where a few families lived with nothing more than a floor raised up on stilts and a thatched roof for cover. They were very gracious and danced for us and then pulled all the tourists into their dancing with them and so everyone was laughing and twirling and having fun together. It made for great photo opportunities. (My husband now has a picture of himself next to two topless Umbera women. (We don't see that kind of thing much in Seattle!) Anway, they had some crafts that they sold and then we were on our way back to the ship...it was a really diverse and interesting day and I would recommend it to any of you that would like to see a little more than "another pretty beach)...

 

Have fun,

Cathykins