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Summit review March 13-20

puglvr0507

By puglvr0507,
in Celebrity Cruises

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puglvr0507

puglvr0507

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After lurking on these boards for a few months before my cruise, I wanted to give a review of my recent experience on the Summit and give back a little. I was on the Summit for a Caribbean cruise from 3/13/-3/20. My Aunt gifted our family the cruise as a Christmas present. So there were 6 of us on this cruise: myself, my Aunt, my father, my brother, my stepmom and my 12 year old stepbrother. Everyone was a first time cruiser except for my Aunt who has been on several Princess cruises. The 6 of us shared 2 standard balcony cabins on deck 6 (penthouse deck). They were cabins 6076 and 6078. A little bit small with 3 adults in the cabin, but we made it work. The balcony was great. Not sure I could do an inside stateroom after having a balcony!

We flew from San Francisco to Puerto Rico via Dulles airport. We took a red-eye on Friday night, and arrived in San Juan about 12:30pm. By 2pm we were eating lunch in the buffet. We did buy some soda and wine in the cruise terminal to take onboard.

Our staterooms were ready around 3pm, and about half of our luggage was already waiting for us. The rest of it except for my brother’s suitcase arrived within the next 45 minutes. My brother’s suitcase did not show up until almost 8pm, so that was a little disappointing.

We had the late dinner seating, and our waiter, Engin, assistant waiter Pauline, and sommelier Fernando were phenomenal. We truly looked forward to dinner every night and all 3 of them made our trip very memorable. We all agreed that the food in the MDR exceeded all of our expectations. Meats always came out perfectly cooked, and Engin was always willing to honor special requests. We celebrated my Aunt’s birthday one night, and they brought out a small birthday cake(no extra charge). We did eat at Normandie on Tuesday night, and that was a great experience. The service was excellent, and everything was great except for the lobster that my dad, brother and I ordered. We all agreed that it was just ok, and a little tough. Everything else was wonderful. Well worth the cost.

St Thomas: we chartered a sailboat for the day out of the American Yacht Harbor, and this was a fabulous day. Our guide, Captain Bobby, took us to 2 snorkeling sites where the water was the most beautiful turquoise blue. The snorkeling was pretty good, although we have all seen better snorkeling in Hawaii. The location could not be beat. We did see a few turtles which was pretty cool. One warning: wear sunscreen and apply often!! We did get very burnt this first day, which was not what you want to do on your first day of vacation!!

We did watch the show in the theatre this night. The medley of musicals was okay. Was not super impressed. To be continued...

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puglvr0507

puglvr0507

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St. Croix: My brother and I worked out in the gym (very nice equipment, never crowded) and then headed to the beach. (Everyone else did a bike tour through the ship which they said was strenuous (12 miles) but a lot of fun). We caught a taxi right in the port to Sandcastle beach for $6/person, roundtrip. The beach was great. We paid $20 for 2 lounge chairs and an umbrella, and got a bucket of 5 coronas for $20. This was a beautful beach, and we had a great view of the ship and got some nice pictures (Summit was the only ship in town). Water was turquoise blue, and crystal clear. It reminded us of a Corona commercial.

We took the taxi back into town, bought more sunscreen ($18 for a bottle of Coppertone), walked around to a few shops and got back on board. This port was very laid back. Great day. Went to Normandie for dinner, and then went to bed.

St. Kitts: My brother and I took a taxi to the Mariott. We shared a taxi on the way out and paid $5 total (plus tip). On the way back, we didn’t have anyone to share with and paid $10 total. We did not reserve a room here. We walked right through the lobby and the pool, past the sign that says hotel guests only and walked right onto the public beach. No one stopped us. We paid $20 for 2 lounge chairs and an umbrella. There were a lot of vendors on this beach that kept offering aloe massages. They were a little annoying, but you just tell them no, and they leave you alone. There were people snorkeling at this beach, but we didn’t. Nice beach, although we both agreed that Sandcastle was a better beach.

I believe that there was a party on deck 10 with the fruit buffet this night, but we did not go. My 12 year old stepbrother went and had a blast. We heard that the nightclub, Revelations was packed everynight, but we never went.

Antigua: Woke up and saw the Ruby Princess was in port with us. 4 of us decided to do the Stingray swim and snorkel through the ship ($69/person). The stingrays were awesome. You got to hold them and feed them. Pretty cool. The bus ride out was another experience. My Dad and I are both very claustrophobic. They overpacked the bus, and we made the mistake of sitting in the back. We almost had to get off the bus. Very bad experience. Would not have done the tour if we knew about the bus. We sat in the front on the way back, and it was not as bad.

Spent several hours up on the pooldeck when we got back. Drink specials are always $5 (plus 15% gratuity). They have 3 each day, usually 2 mixed drinks and 1 blended drink. I always drank the specials and they were very good. Coronas were always $5. Around 4pm, the poolwaiters would come around with pre-made blended drinks, 2 for $9. They would put a floater of rum on top. None of us had a beverage package. Best part of the day was about 5pm when all of the people who had early dining would leave the pool, and it would clear out a little bit. We usually hung out by the pool until about 6:30 or 7 every night.

Oh yes...formal nights are Sunday and Thursday. Saw a mixture of tuxes and dark suits. Didn't see many long gowns on the woman, mostly cocktail dresses. Didn't see anyone who was underdressed.

Review to be continued.

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AAAAmerican

AAAAmerican

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I just booked Three Cabins on here for the 05/16/2010 a.d cruise trip.

 

Newport, R.I. on Monday, Boston MA on Tuesday, then Irish Island and those Piers in Bermuda on a Thursday, scheduled and God willing eh..;)

 

 

The cabins at the lowered prices are going quickly I saw.

 

 

 

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