SUMMIT Repositioning Cruise Journal with PICTURES!

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 3: April 30th - St. Thomas, USVI

 

Having been to St. Thomas multiple times and in desperate need of some time to relax, I made today a self-proclaimed sea day. I attempted to sleep in, but starting at 8:00am there were plenty of doors slamming, people talking in the hallways, vacuum noises, etc so I gave up at 9am and got up for the day. There was an almost 1” gap under the door of my room which allowed quite a bit of noise to pass through.

I went to the buffet for breakfast at around 9:45 and it wasn’t busy - I think a lot of people were already off the ship. I had a veggie omelette, bacon, grilled tomato and mushrooms, french toast, and fruit.

After breakfast I walked around the deck to take some pictures, and then went to stake out a good chair in the shade by the pool. I discovered today that they only take your stateroom number for towels if you are taking them off the ship (in which case you sign them back in when you return them at the gangway on your way back on).

The many stores at Havensight:

 

 

 

[sarahc78]

Loving your review. Your pictures are AWESOME!!! Can't wait to see the ones of Bermuda :)

[Newbcruiser1]

I sat by the pool and read for a while, went for a swim (I appreciated the fact that there is a shallow pool, only approximately 4‘ deep), and met some nice people. After that, it was time for lunch. By now the buffet was quite busy with long lines. I had a small Caesar salad tossed to order, and some Asian stir fry, noodles, and chicken satay sticks. I took it out and ate it at my pool chair.

There was supposed to be a Caribbean line dance class, however nobody wanted to participate so they didn’t do it. In the late afternoon after more reading, I got some ice cream, but not just any ice cream. I got chocolate soft-serve topped with marshmallows and sprinkles! Yum! My ice cream got many compliments from hungry people on my way back outside with it. It was great. Unfortunately it looked too good and I completely forgot to take a picture!

 

There was some Latin music by the pool in the late afternoon played by Nestor Santurio, or Puss in Boots, as I liked to call him since that’s who he reminded me of, a pool volleyball game between passengers and staff, etc.

We left port around 5:30 after waiting for the Carnival Victory to leave and for the last few stragglers to make their way back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

The show tonight was Edge - The Evolution. It was a “comedy-juggling” act which was just okay. He was moving too quickly for a clear picture!

For dinner tonight, again in the MDR, I had the crab and cheese stuffed mushrooms (they weren’t anything special), seafood orzo (very good, although I ate around the calamari and mussels), and chicken Wellington (good). For dessert I had the Tiramisu.

After dinner at 10:30 was the island pool party and fruit buffet. I was full from dinner and obviously didn’t eat, but the fruit display with ice sculptures was very nice.

The band, Fusion, was playing and they were great, and there was lots of line dancing (everything from the Macarena to the Cupid Shuffle). It was also really nice to see the ship’s officers and cruise director, Sue dancing as well and they seemed to be enjoying it.

 

I went to bed shortly after midnight in preparation for an early start in Tortola.

[cruzeluver]

Great review! And one's for Celebrity with pics are a rarity so I tend to gobble them up. Summit looks to be in great shape to me. We have been fortunate enough to sail twice with Fusion, far and away our favorite X party band. The female lead singer and male singer/trumpet player are awesome!!

[Lew's cruise]

I luv your review... and the pictures are a wonderful addition. Please keep it coming am totally into it.

[Cruzoholic]

We'll be boarding in 18 days and this really is getting me excited.

 

Thanks again.

 

Evie

[jenniebnyc]

Great write-up so far ... and pictures! Looks like you are having a nice time!

[pinma]

Thank you for the review and pictures.

[happytam]

Great review and I'm loving the pictures! Looks like you're having a wonderful time. I hope Joseph remembers your note this time.

I'll be on the Summit in November. As a first time Celebrity cruiser I'm finding the reviews (and espeically the pics) very helpful.

Thanks again!

[travellink]

Great review and especially the pics. Interested in what the M-class ships look and feel like after their conversions. Thanks!!

[trainnut]

Fantastic review and pictures! I really appreciate the daily newsletter photos, as I was wondering just when the shows were at night.

 

I and DW will be on board with HappyTam in November, and this is a great way to "see" the ship ahead of time!

 

Keep it up, and thanks!

[fninsn]

My sister and I were on this sailing with you and we had a great time. Reading your review and seeing your pictures brings back some amazing memories and I can't wait to read more.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Thanks for your review and pictures of Summit...Just a few days and DH and I will be embarking!

[Brown Gate]

You must have gotten on the Summit when we got off. We had very similar problems with our room steward. (No ice, not picking up dirty dishes and not emptying the trash) It was very unlike RC where everything was perfect every day. Your tales and photos are great. Good work.

Beth

[ISABELLA]

You were so lucky to have Sue Denning as CD.

She is one of the best........

[Newbcruiser1]

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the review! :) It makes all of the time put into it worthwhile!

Despite the small issues with the room steward, etc, it was still a wonderful cruise and I had a blast. I would definitely cruise with Celebrity again - the food was a nice step up from RCI. To everyone that's going in the near future, you will love it! The ship really looks great and quite fresh after the refurbishment - you wouldn't guess that the Summit is over 10 years old.

Sue Denning is a great CD - I was surprised! She is different from the usual CD's, but has a wonderful sense of humor and seems like a really nice lady. And I really liked Fusion - they are the best band I have ever seen on a cruise. I just wish they (or Nestor Santurio) were out more by the pool during the day.

Anyway stay tuned for the rest! I'll try to get Day 4 (Tortola) up tonight! :) And if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. I'll try my best to answer!

[newsier]

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the review! :) It makes all of the time put into it worthwhile!

Despite the small issues with the room steward, etc, it was still a wonderful cruise and I had a blast. I would definitely cruise with Celebrity again - the food was a nice step up from RCI. To everyone that's going in the near future, you will love it! The ship really looks great and quite fresh after the refurbishment - you wouldn't guess that the Summit is over 10 years old.

Sue Denning is a great CD - I was surprised! She is different from the usual CD's, but has a wonderful sense of humor and seems like a really nice lady. And I really liked Fusion - they are the best band I have ever seen on a cruise. I just wish they (or Nestor Santurio) were out more by the pool during the day.

Anyway stay tuned for the rest! I'll try to get Day 4 (Tortola) up tonight! :) And if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. I'll try my best to answer!

 

Yes - we really are enjoying your review as we are going to be "transplanted" RCIers and the Summit is our first ship on X. Although our trip is a year away, we look forward to the change (we still have a couple RCCL boat rides before the Summit).

 

Glenn

[jgnova]

I suspect most of our roll call is following your review -- and enjoying the anticipation. 17 days until we sail. Thanks for all the work to write and post the narrative and photos.

 

S

[pjsatc86]

Great review so far! I am really enjoying it. It is interesting to read about the differences between Royal and Celebrity. We are going on our first Celebrity cruise in the fall.

[Sunshine427]

I am loving your review. I sail out on the Summit on May 27th and am really looking forward to seeing all the new renovations.

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 4: May 1, 2012 - Road Town, Tortola, BVI

 

I woke up bright and early at 6:15 today to get ready for my 7:30 tour to the Baths in Virgin Gorda. I had ordered room service via the door hanger the night before, and received a call around 6:35am that it was on it’s way. Within 2 minutes there was a knock on the door. My order was correct, and it was wrapped up in a napkin tied at the top like a present. I had cereal with milk, toast, a mini croissant, and a chocolate chip danish with some orange juice. Overall not bad for a quick breakfast.

I was out the door at 7:10 and headed up to deck 4 to take a few pictures and realized they had not yet set up the gangway as the ship had not been cleared. A short time later, I saw staff streaming off the ship (photographers, excursion staff, etc) so I followed and went down towards the gangway on deck 1. I thought Tortola looked quite a bit like the other islands we visited.

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

I met up with my tour at the end of the pier and found out there would be around 210 people on it. Woah! We soon embarked on a large ferry complete with TV’s inside showing Law and Order - I can’t say I’ve ever watched Law and Order on a ferry in the Caribbean! Actually I lied… I didn’t watch it, as I was too busy watching the waves spraying over the windows as we crashed through them - talk about a rollercoaster-like ride! It was around 40 minutes and then we arrived in Virgin Gorda.

Next we got on open air taxis which took us over to the top of The Baths.

Sea Dog, anyone?

It was quite the adventure getting down to The Baths themselves, down a sandy trail with wooden steps and rocks along the way.

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Once we got to the bottom, we had a choice of entering the caves to Devils Bay, or staying there at The Baths and taking the same route back up. I think most, if not everyone chose to do the caves.

The Baths:

The adventure through the Caves had some very small openings necessitating crouching down pretty low, some tiny squeezes between rocks, and even having to climb up the face of a very large rock with the help of a rope. It was gorgeous in there, but quite the trek through. I even had to sit on my butt at one point to get over and down a rocky area.

The entrance in:

I'd strongly recommend watershoes as there are many small "pool" areas inside the caves.

[Newbcruiser1]

The beach at the end, Devils Bay, was well worth the hike through the caves. It was very calm, quite warm, and had more giant rocks which some people were adventurous enough to jump off of.

I went for a nice swim to cool off, and then got out and dried off a bit before starting the hike up a different path back to the parking area. A staff member at the bottom told me it was all a sandy trail on an incline, and it would take about 10-15 minutes. He lied!!! I think it took closer to 25-30 minutes, and there were more rocks, wood steps, etc much like on the way down. Luckily, I made it back to the top. The tour was great but if Celebrity classifies this as requiring a moderate activity level, I'd be afraid to see what the active tours are like.