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

[Ron_L]

I finally had a chance to get my pictures organized and online so I'll add some in here along with more detail on our trip...

 

Precruise Hotel - Hilton Condado Plaza

 

I have a bunch of Hilton points so I wanted a Hilton property for this trip. After looking at reviews here, on Tripadvisor and other sites I decided on the Conrad Condado. The name was later changes to the Hilton Condado Plaza. When I went to book they had a special that allowed me to book a deluxe ocean view room for only 5000 points more than a standard room, so I grabbed it. The room turned out to be very nice with a seating area and king sized bed in the main section and a glass-enclosed shower in the large bathroom.

 

The seating area...

 

IMG_2545 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The bed and TV...

 

IMG_2547 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The bath...

 

IMG_2553 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The room also had a nice balcony with two chairs and a small table. The view was best looking to the left (west)...

 

IMG_2548 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The collection of buildings in this shot are the Caribe Hilton.

 

Looking down from the balcony...

 

IMG_2550 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The hotel grounds were very nice with a pool, hot tub and a beach on a protected cove. There are also a few restaurants and bars on site but besides a couple of drinks on our arrival day we didn't visit any of those.

 

The location is convenient to OSJ either by bus or taxi ($15) and also convenient to the restaurants, shops and bars in the Condado area.

[Ron_L]

After getting our stuff unpacked and settled in we went down to the lobby bar for a cocktail. I had an excellent Mojito and my wife tried a Medalla, a local beer. The Medalla is a lighter beer but was very good.

 

IMG_2557 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

IMG_2558 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

After that we took a walk down Ashford Avenue to see what was nearby. There are a lot of restaurants, bars and shops starting about 1 1/2 blocks east of the hotel. We walked for about a half hour and found a small local bar and tried another mojito. It was good, but not as good as the one at the hotel.

 

IMG_2566 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Along the way we passed the Ropa Vieja Grill, which was highly recommended by another CC member so we headed back there for dinner. We enjoyed a couple of Medallas and the Risotto Fritters appetizer, which were very good. We then ordered our main courses. My wife ordered the shredded flank steak (Ropa Vieja) mofongo and I ordered the Shrimp in Garlic Sauce Mofongo.

 

IMG_2568 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

IMG_2567 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Both were fantastic! I highly recommend the Ropa Vieja Grill if you are in the area. The staff was friendly, the prices reasonable and the food was the best out of our entire trip.

 

More to come later...

[stratixman]

The Summit out of San Juan is one of our favorites. We always plan extra time in San Juan as it is a boffo place to hang out. We have stayed at the Conrad and a few other resorts in the near vicinity. Great location. As for islands, Dominica is fabulous. Now you done it, got me thinking maybe I should book us another Celebrity jaunt out of San Juan.

[digital_curator]

Thanks for your great review. We are on this cruise on February1 and really looking forward to it!

 

One question- did you do the Cruzan tour through the ship? I thought the factory was closed on Sundays.

 

Cheers,

[Ron_L]

Thanks for your great review. We are on this cruise on February1 and really looking forward to it!

 

One question- did you do the Cruzan tour through the ship? I thought the factory was closed on Sundays.

 

Cheers,

 

That's what I thought, too, but the young lady who did the tour said that they had recently changed their schedule. They were open until 2:00pm

[Keith1010]

Ron, I enjoyed not only your review but all of the nice photos you have posted and look forward to the additional photos.

 

Thank you for taking the time to do this.

 

Keith

[travelaroundworld]

Great review!

[Ron_L]

Finally continuing...

 

On Thursday in San Juan we made plans with East Island Excursions to do a snorkeling/beach cruise to a reef off of Culebra and then to either Flamenco beach or Culebrita (depending on the weather). The offer pickup and drop off at San Juan area hotels for $14/person additional so we opted for that. They picked us up at the Hilton at 7:30am and we stopped by the Marriott to pick up a family from Virginia. We also stopped at a hotel in the Isla Verde area but apparently the folks there changed their mind and were a no show.

 

We got to the marina near Fajardo at around 9:00 and checked in and were soon aboard the Caribe Spirit, a power catamaran.

 

PC050003 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The ride out to Culebra was a bit rough, but it was fun watching everyone bounce with the waves. Once there the crew made sure that everyone had snorkeling gear and swim belts (if needed) and we were soon in the water. The reef was beautiful with lots of healthy coral, a great variety of fish and some of the biggest sea fans that I have seen anywhere.

 

PC050023-001 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC050038 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC050049 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC050065 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

It rained on and off while we were snorkeling but no one seemed to mind.

 

After snorkeling the crew served a lunch of fresh bread, cold cuts, fruit and chips and once that was cleaned up we were off to Culebrita (it was still windy and the swells were too big to go to Flamenco Beach). The beach at Culebrita was very nice, and after we were there for an hour or so the sun came out and we had a beautiful afternoon.

 

We headed back to the marina at about 3:45 and we were back at our hotel by about 5:30. The folks at East Island Excursions were great and the crew on the boat did a fantastic job!

 

That evening we had 8:00 reservations at Casa Lola, a couple of blocks from the hotel. We were pretty tired so we changed the reservation to 7:00. We cleaned up, changed clothes and started to walk to the restaurant. Halfway there the skies opened up and we had no where to take shelter. By the time we got to the restaurant we were thoroughly soaked. The staff was great and gave us towels to dry off and seated us at the warmest table in the restaurant. The hostess even brought her jacket over for my wife to wear. We were cold but decided to stay and have dinner and we were glad that we did. The food and service were excellent. We started off with the house red sangria, which was very good. My wife had a dish with braised brisket and I had paella. Both were very tasty although the paella didn't have the crispy crust (soccarat) on the bottom that most do.

[Ron_L]

On Friday our plan was to explore OSJ. We woke to passing rain, sometimes heavy, sometimes light. We enjoyed coffee and a light breakfast on the balcony and were treated to several beautiful rainbows.

 

PC060154 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Once it looked like the showers had passed we grabbed a taxi and had the driver take us to El Morro. We decided to start there and work our way downhill. We spent quite a bit of time exploring the fort and even tagged along on a short guided tour that was given by one of the park service personnel.

 

PC060160 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

On the walk back from the fort we stopped at several places for pictures.

 

PC060185 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC060189 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC060190 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We stopped by Barrachina for a light lunch and a Pina Colada. The menu looked like their dinner menu and was expensive so we chose two appetizers. We weren't impressed with the food but the Pina Coladas were excellent.

 

IMG_2588 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Continued...

[Ron_L]

After Barrachine we walked around OSJ, looking in some of the shops. eventually we came across one of the spots that I wanted to stop at was a coffee shop called Cuatro Sombras. The family we met the day before mentioned going there and since I am a coffee geek I had to go. The shop is family owned and the same family owns a coffee farm on Puerto Rico. They roast the coffee in the shop.

 

PC060195 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

I ordered a latte and talked to the barista while he was making drinks for others customers who had ordered before me. While we were talking he gave me a sample espresso shot and it was very good.

 

PC060198 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

He was also the roaster and since I roast coffee at home we started up a conversation about their coffee. They don't normally sell the green (unroasted) beans but I talked him into selling me a pound to try at home.

 

The latte was great and he poured a very detailed rosette on it for me (the lady in front of me got two hearts).

 

PC060201 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

After that we walked some more, stopping at a local bar for a beer and to do some people watching and finally ending up at the Old Harbor Brewery for one of their beers.

 

PC060202 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

I don't know if it was the best beer in PR, but it was good.

 

From there we took a taxi back to the hotel to clean up for dinner. We had 8:00 reservations at Marmalade restaurant and we were looking forward to it.

 

Continued...

[HeatherC430]

I'm loving the pictures! Keep 'em coming!

Thanks for taking the time to post!

[Ron_L]

I'm loving the pictures! Keep 'em coming!

Thanks for taking the time to post!

 

Thanks! I hope folks are enjoying this.

[Ron_L]

Continued...

 

We took a taxi from the Condado Plaza to Marmalade. Marmalade is in the middle of the construction zone on Fortaleza so the taxi dropped us off about a block away. We were a few minutes early for our reservation so we took a couple of stools at the bar. The bar stools are some sort of stylized pillar with a cushion on top, but they were actually comfortable :) The drink menu at the bar is very creative including drinks like the Global Warming, which has a globe of frozen pepper water in it and the drink gets hotter (spicier) as the ice globe melts. Very clever!

 

We were soon seated and chose to go with their four course meal with wine pairings. They also offer 5 and 6 course options, but four courses was more than enough. For the first course I chose a yellowtail poke that was served with a light, crispy flat bread and an amazing chilled sake and my wife had the white bean soup.

 

IMG_2595 by rclewen, on Flickr"]

IMG_2595 by rclewen, on Flickr[/url]

 

The white bean soup was the star of the evening. All of the food was great, but the white bean soup is flat out amazing. The chef/owner came by as we were finishing that course and my wife joked that she would gladly clean out the soup pots for the recipe. He told us to ask our waitress for the recipe card. Apparently it is so popular that they have card printed up with the recipe!

 

For the second course we chose gnocchi with beef short ribs and truffle pappardelle with broccoli rabe. Our third course was red snapper and seared scallops and for dessert we tried the banana bread pudding and the Chocolate Tripletta with was a dark chocolate mousse topped with a milk chocolate mousse and a white chocolate whipped cream and crunchy coffee bit. Both desserts were very good but the bread pudding was the better of the two.

 

During dinner we struck up a conversation with the couple of the table next to ours. It turned out that they were also going on the Summit the next day and the woman was Shell15 here on CC and had started the roll call for our cruise!

 

After dinner we went to the Marmalade bar and tried a couple of the cocktails and then walked back to the area where the taxi dropped us off and grabbed a taxi back to the ship. We were both pretty tired so we sat on the balcony for a bit and then went to bed.

 

Next...

 

We finally start our cruise :D

[Ron_L]

OK... It's finally cruise day! We got up around 8:00, enjoyed coffee and a light breakfast on the balcony and repacked out stuff. We headed for the port at about 10:15. I had read on CC that the doors at the port were typically opened at 10:30. As we approached the port we got our first look at the Summit...

 

IMG_2616 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We got there at about 10:35 and there was a line of about 20 - 30 people waiting at the doors. We dropped our bags with the porter and he told us that they would open the door at 11:30. We had already seen OSJ so we decided to wait. They actually opened the doors at about 11 and we were checked in and on the ship by 11:15.

 

We went up to the pool deck and grabbed a drink and sat for a bit then explored some of the ship...

 

The Theater...

 

PC070204 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Michael's Club...

 

PC070207 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

The Casino...

 

PC070208 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Crush...

 

PC070209 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

and the Martini Bar...

 

PC070211 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Continued...

[Ron_L]

More pictures of the ship...

 

The staircase in the Atrium...

 

PC070212 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Later in the cruise they would add more decorations to the staircase.

 

The Solarium and the Thalassotherapy Pool...

 

PC070213 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

In the Solarium...

 

PC070230 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

After walking around for a while we headed to Bistro on Five for lunch. It was fairly crowded and we found out from the folks seated next to us that anyone doing a B2B were given coupons for a free lunch in Bistro on Five on turn around day.

 

We really enjoyed Bistro on Five and it was probably the best food that we had on the ship. I ordered tomato soup and the Cowboy crepe (Grilled Flank Steak, Spinach, Caramelized Onion, Bacon, Provolone and Blue Cheese Dressing)...

 

IMG_2623 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

My wife order a breakfast crepe with Smoked Applewood Bacon, Scrambled Eggs and Cheddar Cheese but she actually got a crepe with scrambled eggs, spinach, tomatoes and ham...

 

IMG_2622 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

She enjoyed ti so she decided not to send it back.

 

Then we shared the Italian dessert crepe (Nutella, Banana and Pistachio)...

 

PC070217 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

With the port intensive itinerary we never made it back to Bistro on Five, but in retrospect we should have.

 

Continued...

[Ron_L]

While we were eating they announced that the cabins were ready (around 1:00pm) so we went down to check out our cabin and drop off our carry on bags. We booked cabin 3112, which is one of the new OV cabins that were added when the Summit went through Solticization (is that right?). This bank of cabins have larger windows and because of the layout 3112 is a little larger than the rest. The door is perpendicular to the hull rather than parallel to it. The deck plans don't show this so I modified that area to show the configuration...

 

 

The cabin was very nice. We enjoyed the location and it was generally quiet. There was a banging noise during the day when we were at the dock in San Juan and St. Croix, but it was very windy those days, and the dock was on that side of the ship, so it was most likely something using during docking that was swinging in the wind. Overall the cabin was smaller than the cabins that we have had in the past on Carnival ships, but there enough room for us and our stuff. Here are some pictures of the cabin...

 

PC070218 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC070219 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC070220 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC070221 by rclewen, on Flickr

[Ron_L]

More cabin pictures...

 

PC070224 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC070225 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC070226 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

And for those who ask what soaps/shampoos are in the cabin...

 

PC070227 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

More later...

[katrocity1]

I'm just loving your posts and photos! Thanks for all the details!

[Willman]

Awesome photos. We will be in 3112 in March.

[BubMunkeyBles]

Can't wait to read more! Really appreciate your review.

[Atwell]

One of the most enjoyable and informative reviews ever! We will be on the Summit for a B2B at the end of January. Can't wait for more of your review (especially the photos).

[Ron_L]

I'm just loving your posts and photos! Thanks for all the details!

 

Thanks!

 

Awesome photos. We will be in 3112 in March.

 

I think you'll enjoy the cabin! Great location!

 

 

Can't wait to read more! Really appreciate your review.

 

Thank you!

 

One of the most enjoyable and informative reviews ever! We will be on the Summit for a B2B at the end of January. Can't wait for more of your review (especially the photos).

 

Thanks!

[Ron_L]

Shortly after we got to the cabin there was a knock on the door and it was Andrew, from India, our steward for the week. He introduced himself and told us that he would be working with Katut in taking care of us for the week. Andrew and Katut did an excellent job. We were never lacking in anything and they went out of their way to make sure that our cabin was the way that we liked it, including making up the bed each day with just a top sheet on my side and an extra blanket on my wife's side. I made sure to mention both of them to the Hotel Director and the Housekeeping manager when we had a chance to meet them.

 

After checking out or cabin and dropping off our bags we changed into our swim suits, which were in our carry-on bags and headed to the Solarium. This would become a favorite hangout for us during the cruise. The Thalassotherapy pool was warm enough to be comfortable but not as hot as the hot tubs.

 

We had plans to meet our our roll calls friends at 4:30 at the Sunset Bar (Deck 10 aft) so we went back to the cabin at around 3:30 and our bags were there. We unpacked and changed into casual clothes and headed up to meet the roll call. We ended up with about 20 people in our informal meet and greet.

 

PC070234 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We chatted and had a great time until around 5:30, when the folks with early dinner left to change. My wife and I explored the ship for a while until it was time for muster. The announcements for muster started at about 7:15 and the drill was at 7:45. Out muster station was in the Rendez Vu lounge and we got the a few minutes early and sat with a couple from out roll call. They packed the lounge to standing room only but the drill was fairly short and we were done in about 20 minutes.

 

We wanted to be on deck for sail away so we had told the Maitre'D in the MDR that we would miss dinner that night and went back to the Sunset Bar. We grabbed some food from the buffet and enjoyed a beautiful evening sail away from San Juan. I tried to get some night shots but with my point and shoot camera they didn't come out too well. This is the best of them.

 

PC070242 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

I was a little surprised that El Morro wasn't lit up on the ocean side, but I guess the National Park Service is keeping with the historical purpose as a fort.

 

Once we were out to sea we went to the opening night show in the theater. It was a mix of everything that would be presented on the ship during the cruise so we got a taste of the production shows, the piano player, the a capella group and the comedienne. After that we went to the Martini Bar for the first of many martinis during the cruise and the first of many attempts to make a snow man on the frozen bar top.

 

PC070246 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC070247 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

We ended up sitting at the Martini Bar talking with some friends from our roll call until about 1AM. While we were there a gentleman came up to use and said "Are you Ron_L from Cruise Critic?" he had recognized me from my profile picture and a picture that I had posted in the roll call thread, but his partner didn't believe him. My identity was confirmed when my wife returned from the restroom and she matched the description that this gentleman had given his partner of her. We had a great conversation with them and would see them several times on the ship during the cruise. This would become a regular occurrence on the cruise with four or five people approaching me because they recognized me from my picture. We got s chuckle out of it each time it happened.

 

Next up, St. Croix.

[Ron_L]

We docked in St. Croix early on Sunday morning and folks were heading off of the ship by 8:00am. We had originally planned to do a jeep tour with Tan Tan Tours for ended up canceling it on Friday afternoon. Tan Tan has a policy that parties less than three would be considered a private tour and the charge for three people. I was very clear with them that I was not requesting a private tour and wanted to be part of a group, but by Friday afternoon no one else had booked so I told them to cancel our reservation. As it turned out, the tour would probably have been cancelled anyway because of the weather. It had been raining heavily in St. Croix for the previous two days and rain heavily ona nd off while we were there, so the roads into the rain forest were muddy and impassible. It was also very windy and everyone that we talked to with water-based excursions had them cancel, too.

 

We started the day out with room service breakfast, which is our normal routine on board. Being able to get eggs (scrambled or a plain omelette in a regular cabin) and bacon or sausage is nice, but most mornings I was happy with a bagel or toast. The room service coffee is very strong and my wife ended up drinking half milk and half coffee to get the taste where she wanted it, but that gave her a warm cup. Later in the cruise I thought of ordering tea to get hot water and then she mixed coffee, hot water and milk to get it where she liked it.

 

We left the ship at about 9:00 with no real plans. We cam up to a desk offering taxi tours and a couple of ladies from Guyana were there hoping for more folks to join them. The tour was supposed to go to the rain forest to the Domino Club to see the beer drinking pigs, to the Cruzan distillery, which is normally closed on Sunday, and then to Christiansted for shopping for $25. The rainforest stop was cancelled, but we decided to take the tour. We had no other plans. Another couple from New York ended up joining us.

 

The ladies from Guyana weren't interested in going to Cruzan, but the rest of us had already bought the tickets ($5 extra) so they grudgingly agreed as long as it was a "brief" stop. Well, the tour is a fixed length of time, and it included two drinks at the end plus four tasting sized shots of rum, so apparently we took too long. When we returned to the van I offered one of the ladies my seat since she was walking with a cane and it would be easier for her to get in and out of the van. She commented that my offer "almost made up for you taking so long".

 

Anyway, the tour was very informative. It is amazing that all of the Cruzan Rum is produced at that location by 65 people. Bottling is done in Kentucky at the Jim Beam bottling plant (Jim Beam owns Cruzan). The young lady who did our tour told us that they had just decided to open on Sundays when there is a ship in port. they were only open until 2:00pm.

 

PC080249 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

PC080269 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

At Cruzan we purchased a Cruzan hat for me, and an assortment of 1 oz sample bottles of Cruzan rum. The assortment has two of each flavor, so 18 bottles, for $16. When we got home our daughter was eyeing the set so we should have bought two of them. We ended up splitting it with her.

 

After Cruzan we drove across the island and our driver told us quite a bit about the history of St. Croix and the points of interest that we passed. We also stopped a couple of times for pictures.

 

When we got to Christiansted the driver asked us to meet back at the cab at 3:00 for the trip back to Frederiksted. The ladies from Guyana insisted that we should meet back at 3:30 because the rest of us had taken so long at the Cruzan Distillery and the driver reluctantly agreed.

 

The boardwalk at Christiansted has a bunch of restaurants and shops, but since it was Sunday most of them were closed. We found the Fort Christian Brew Pub and decided to have a beer and lunch. For some reason they were out of draft beer and only had the normal US beers on hand, so I had a diet coke and my wife had a Miller Light. the food, however, was very good. I had Mahi Mahi and chips and my wife had braised pork tacos. The location was very nice, right along the harbor.

 

PC080287 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

After lunch we looked at a couple of shops and then it was time to head back to the ship. We took back roads to get to Christiansted but took major roads back so we were back at the ship by about 4:00. there is a few shops by the dock and some local crafters set up so we looked at what they had. My wife had decided to buy a momento from each port that could be converted into a Christmas ornament so she found a small wooden pig that she liked, even though we didn't get to visit the beer drinking pigs.

 

Once on board we changed into our swim suits and went to the Solarium and spent some time in the Thalassotherapy pool and hot tub. From there we went back tot he cabin and caught the early show. This was one of the full production shows and was based on broadway musicals. One of the performers, I thin her name was Anastasia, did a fantastic version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Her voice is magnificent and that was the highlight of the show.

 

After the show is was time to head to the MDR for dinner. When we found our table it was a table for eight but there was only one couple sitting there. After we introduced ourselves they told us that they were the only ones at the table the night before. It ended up being the four of us for the entire cruise. They were from the Boston area and we had a great time with them. After the third night they reset the table for six so we had a little more room. On the 5th night the Maitre'D and head waiter came over and told us that they had found the other two couple who were supposed to sit with us. Apparently someone had told them that it cost $40/person extra to eat in the MDR so they were eating at the buffet every night! the did eat in the MDR for the remaining nights but they were seated at a table for four.

 

After dinner we went back to the martini bar for a while. We really enjoyed the drinks, but the bar tenders were really the highlight. They were all very good but the star of the show was Newman, from Turkey. He has a great personality and sense of humor and puts on a good show at the bar.

 

PC080293 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

When we got back to the cabin we had the first of two towel animals that Andrew made for us during the cruise. My wife enjoys these creations so she was very happy.

 

PC080296 by rclewen, on Flickr

 

Tomorrow is St. Kitts...

[jimbug]

This is fantastic!! Thank you for the review. :)