Just back from the Summit, 12/7/2013 Southern Caribbean

[new_cruiser14]

Thanks!

 

Yes, there was live music every day during sail away. Most of the time it was the party band but on a couple of days there was a band playing latin music. It was probably some of the same musicians but I didn't pay that close of attention :-D They were there for an hour or two.

 

 

 

 

The braised beef short ribs was the best dish of the week out of what we tried. I think that was on the menu on the last night. On one night they had a baked half-chicken that our table mates tried and they said it was very good.

 

Otherwise we were disappointed by the MDR food. My wife ordered steak three times, think that it would get better, but it didn't. The first time it was the Celebrity signature beef tournedo, which is a piece of beef tenderloin. It had the flavor and texture of pot roast. She also tried the sirloin steak and the ribeye and the cuts were so thin (between 1/4 and 1/2 inch) there was no way to get it anything less than medium well. We also found that everything was under seasoned.

 

To sign up for the Connections party there is a link in the Celebrity Roll Call section of the forum.

 

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/cruisecritic/home.do

 

You'll need your booking number and ship and sailing date.

Hi Ron. Thanks for the review, it's great! Did you happen to try the buffet? What did you think of the ocean view cafe? Thanks

[karena1]

Thanks for the review and pictures! We are on Summit April 5th. First time in a very long time we are on Celebrity and really looking forward to it. San Juan is by far our favorite port to sail from.

[Ron_L]

Hi Ron. Thanks for the review, it's great! Did you happen to try the buffet? What did you think of the ocean view cafe? Thanks

 

Yeah. We had dinner from the buffet on the first night, snacks almost every day and breakfast on the morning when we were in Grenada and the last day.

 

I see a lot of complaints on here about the layout of the buffet on the M-Class ships. We've never been on an S-Class ship so can't compare, but I didn't have any problem finding things and there was never a line. The food is pretty typical buffet food with a couple of exceptions. At the very back of the buffet there is a grill that cooks made to order steaks, fish and chicken during dinner time. I had a nicely grilled piece of fish there on the first night. Also, the pasta station is good to very good depending on the crew member staffing it. There was a guy working there who did a much better job with the pasta, including cooking the everything in the sauté pan for a bit before giving it to you. The others would cook whatever ingredients you chose, add some pasta, put it on the plate and then add sauce. The guy would add the sauce to the pan with the pasta and other stuff and the dish was much better.

 

Thanks for the review and pictures! We are on Summit April 5th. First time in a very long time we are on Celebrity and really looking forward to it. San Juan is by far our favorite port to sail from.

 

Thanks! I think you'll enjoy the ship, crew and ports!

[7leagueboots]

Good review... great pictures (always my favorite part of review). The bartender's trick is amazing.:D

[Ron_L]

OK... Back to it :D

 

Our next port was Grenada. This was our fourth port in a row so we decided to make it a beach day. We slept in a little and then went to the buffet for breakfast. I wanted to try the eggs Benedict and waffles that I have been reading about on here.

 

PC110694 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The eggs for the Benedict are pre-cooked and then reheated in hot water when you order, so they were cooked nicely, but the hollandaise had no flavor. It needed a little salt and lemon juice.

 

PC110693 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The waffle was OK, but soggy. They were sitting in a pan on the steam table. I was really hoping for a made to order, crispy waffle.

 

After breakfast we got off the ship and decided to head to Grand Anse beach. The line for the water taxi was about 100 people long so we went through the port building and grabbed a taxi. It was about a 10 minute ride and the driver dropped us off by the spice and craft market. We agreed that he would pick us up there at 3:00. We decided to shop at the market for a while before hitting the beach. The market has two area, one with fixed shops and one with open air stalls.

 

PC110702 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC110704 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

There is also an area with several food/drink stands across from the open air section of the market and there was a live band playing.

 

We stopped by the open air stall first to look around and then stopped by one of the small bars for a drink. After that we went into the area with the more permanent stores. Most of them had the same stuff. We ended up buying some local hot sauce from a nice lady named Glenda. She asked me my name and when I said Ron she said that her son's name was Ron. I'm sure that if I had said Harvey her son's name would have been Harvey, but she was very nice and we had a nice conversation. My wife bought a hand carved wooden idol from one of the guys in the open air stalls and we bought spice necklaces for souvenirs from a young pregnant girl in the open air stalls. She was also very friendly and we talked with her for quite a while.

 

Once we wer edone at the market we walked to the left down the beach. We hadn't gone too far when we ran into a group from our roll call at a place called the Lazy Days Inn. They mentioned that the chairs were 2 for $15 and the beer was $2 and the restrooms were clean and free so we decided to join them.

 

PC110706 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Continued...

[Ron_L]

Grand Anse beach is a couple of mile long and quite beautiful. It is very crowded closer to the water taxi dock and thins out as you go farther away from the dock. Where we were had a fair number of people but it wasn't really crowded.

 

Looking towards the water taxi dock...

 

PC110717 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Looking the other way. You can see clear beach off in the distance...

 

PC110720 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We had a nice view of the Summit as well...

 

PC110710 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We had a nice, relaxing day on the beach. We enjoyed a couple of Carib beers and had an excellent rum punch from the Lazy Days. At 3:00 we met Peter, our taxi driver back by the market and he took us back to the ship. On the way back we went through the tunnel the folks walk through to get to the Carenage. I couldn't get a picture of it but I was surprised at how small it was. It was about 8 feet wide and not much taller. there were lots of people walking down one side.

 

Back on the ship we went to the Solarium for a while then went to the Sunset Bar for sail away and to watch the sun set. After that we went back to the cabin to clean up for dinner. Along the way I noticed that they had added more decoration to the big staircase in the lobby.

 

PC110749 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

After dinner we went to the Martini bar for a while and then went to bed.

 

Sea day tomorrow...

[Ron_L]

Thursday was our one sea day. We took it easy in the morning and headed to the MDR for the brunch at around 11. We were seated at a table with a couple from central California and went to explore the food.

 

The toast and pastry station...

 

PC120756 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

One of the carving stations...

 

PC120758 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

One of many ice sculptures...

 

PC120759 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Sushi...

 

PC120760 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The desserts...

 

PC120762 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

There was a good variety of breakfast and lunch items including a couple of omelette stations and two carving stations (pork roast and leg of lamb). We grabbed some breakfast food and enjoyed the conversation with the couple from California. At about the time that they were leaving a couple from Maryland joined us. We went back and tried some of the lunch items and had a great conversation with the new couple. All together we were there for about two hours and had a nice time and met some very nice people.

 

After that we walked around the ship for a while to check out some of the areas that we had not made it to and then changed into our swim suits and went to the pool areas. I had heard that the pool bar made a drink called the Captain Ron punch, and since that is my nickname I had to try one.

 

PC120764 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

It tasted similar to a Mai Tai. I drank the first one a little too quickly and felt it, so I slowed down after that.

 

This was our second formal night so after the pool areas we went back to the room to clean up and went to the Martini Bar for a while before dinner. After dinner we stopped in the Rendez Vu lounge to watch karaoke, but there was only two people there so we went back to the Martini bar for a while and then called it a night.

[monicajay]

Enjoying your review and pictures very much.

 

We are cruising on the Summit on March 1st of 2014 in a sweet 16 cabin and then again in Feb. of 2015 with 3112. It will be the first time my DH has tried an outside. We have done mostly balconies and a couple of insides. I had a window once on HAL but thought it was a waste. With this big one though, I think he'll like it.

 

We are also staying at the Hilton in San Juan. Anything special we should know about there?

[Ron_L]

Enjoying your review and pictures very much.

 

We are cruising on the Summit on March 1st of 2014 in a sweet 16 cabin and then again in Feb. of 2015 with 3112. It will be the first time my DH has tried an outside. We have done mostly balconies and a couple of insides. I had a window once on HAL but thought it was a waste. With this big one though, I think he'll like it.

 

We are also staying at the Hilton in San Juan. Anything special we should know about there?

 

Thanks!

 

Are you at the Hilton Condado Plaza? I've heard that the tower closest to the ocean is nicer than the tower across the street, but that was just from talking to a guy in the casino.

 

Try the mojito at the lobby bar, but go during happy hour because it's pretty expensive otherwise.

 

Otherwise we didn't use much of the facilities, but the pool, hot tub and the small beach looked nice.

[A Sixth?]

Great pictures!

 

One more quick question... the obligatory "escargot " query. :p

 

Yay or nay? :confused:

 

[cyntil8ing]

One more quick question... the obligatory "escargot " query. :p

 

Yay or nay?

 

We ate in Blu, not MDR, but yeah. My dh had them every night.

[Ron_L]

Great pictures!

 

One more quick question... the obligatory "escargot " query. :p

 

Yay or nay? :confused:

 

Escargot was on the everyday side of the menu. I ordered them a couple of times. They were good but needed more garlic.

[richsea]

Really loving you review & photos! Do you recall how far the beach is from the spice market & how much the taxi cost?

[Ron_L]

Really loving you review & photos! Do you recall how far the beach is from the spice market & how much the taxi cost?

 

The spice and craft market is right on Grand Anse beach, probably a five minute walk from the water taxi dock.

 

It's only been three weeks so you'd think I would remember the taxi cost :-D I'm pretty sure it was either $8 or $10 each way. I remember thinking that it was only a couple of dollar more than the water taxi.

[cavdad78]

Thanks Ron_L for the review and pictures, awesome. We will be on this same cruise/ship Dec. 2014 (a long time away). We will be stayi g in stateroom 9001. Have you (or anyone) ever stayed in a stateroom that far forward?

[richsea]

Thanks Ron. Grand Anse is nice, but we remarked last time how crowded it was. Looks like it's better down where you went, & $2 beers sounds good!

[Casanova02]

Thanks Ron_L for the review and pictures, awesome. We will be on this same cruise/ship Dec. 2014 (a long time away). We will be stayi g in stateroom 9001. Have you (or anyone) ever stayed in a stateroom that far forward?

 

 

Hi

 

We'll be on the Summit on dec 6 too....

 

In march 2013, we were in cabin 8002 on the Summit which is about the same as 9001. We did like that cabin, it's very big....

 

Anything special you want to know ?

[cavdad78]

Hi

 

We'll be on the Summit on dec 6 too....

 

In march 2013, we were in cabin 8002 on the Summit which is about the same as 9001. We did like that cabin, it's very big....

 

Anything special you want to know ?

 

Basically, as far as whether it was rough being that far forward. Any dislikes?

My brother and his wife will have 9000, which is directly above 8002.

Edited January 1, 2014 by cavdad78

[SMSACE6]

I am enjoying your review!

 

I am hoping to cruise on the Summit to Bermuda this year with my Mom.:)

 

Thanks for posting and the photos.

[Casanova02]

Basically, as far as whether it was rough being that far forward. Any dislikes?

My brother and his wife will have 9000, which is directly above 8002.

 

Hi

 

When we were there, we had a couple a day where it was rough and to be honest, we feel the motion of the ship... My wife had to take extra pills....

 

When the weather is OK, the cabin is a must... very very large... lot of place....

 

Becasue of the weather, we didn't take any chance and that's why we went on the new cabin on deck 3... lower and in the center of the ship....

 

We were there in December and it's was perfect....

[cavdad78]

Ron_L,

We were in Cozumel last April, and did an island bar hop, which amounted to a guided island tour, and 4-5 bar stops. On your island visits, did you run across anything similar to that or any suggestions?

[Ron_L]

Ron_L,

We were in Cozumel last April, and did an island bar hop, which amounted to a guided island tour, and 4-5 bar stops. On your island visits, did you run across anything similar to that or any suggestions?

 

We didn't, but I didn't look, either since we had excursions planned for St. Croix (that fell through at the last minute), St. Kitts and Dominica. I did see a party boat-type cruise on Grenada called the Rhum Runner but I wasn't able to find a way to book it.

[Ron_L]

Thanks Ron. Grand Anse is nice, but we remarked last time how crowded it was. Looks like it's better down where you went, & $2 beers sounds good!

 

It was still more crowded than I really like, but we had good company so we enjoyed it. My original plan was to go down to a restaurant/bar called Umbrellas, but one local who I asked about it told me that is was about two miles down the beach and we would be better off taking a taxi. Since we already had arrangements for our driver to meet us by the craft and spice market we decided to skip Umbrellas.

[cavdad78]

We didn't, but I didn't look, either since we had excursions planned for St. Croix (that fell through at the last minute), St. Kitts and Dominica. I did see a party boat-type cruise on Grenada called the Rhum Runner but I wasn't able to find a way to book it.

 

Thanks Ron for the Rhum Runner info. I googled that, and found a website, that I could email them for more info.

[sandys57]

Enjoyed your review and pictures. Glad you and Amy had a good time. Sandy