RC or Celebrity for Southern Caribbean

[NOSaints1]

My DW are in our mid 30s and have only sailed Carnival, not sure on AOS or Jewel and the Summit. I think we will probably do OV. I know Celebrity is more upscale and certain staterooms are limited to certain areas, any tips will be helpful.

 

 

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[ECCruise]

My DW are in our mid 30s and have only sailed Carnival, not sure on AOS or Jewel and the Summit. I think we will probably do OV. I know Celebrity is more upscale and certain staterooms are limited to certain areas, any tips will be helpful.

 

 

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We've sailed both lines many times. Sailed both Summit and Jewel OTS. Not sure what you mean by "upscale"...they are both mass market cruise lines.

Activities better on RCL. Food in MDR better on Celebrity. Specialty restaurants on Celebrity pretty good but very expensive.

 

If you are considering OV, there is no limit to common areas. Aqua class has some spa access and dining in Blu, which used to be part of the main dining room but is now only for AQ. The crowd will probably skew older on Celebrity, but that is mitigated some on a 7 day cruise.

 

If it were me, I would select by 1) itinerary preference, if any and 2) price

[NOSaints1]

Is there enough to do on Celebrity, I mean like entertainment, is it busy on sea days on the pool deck? How does Choice air work, do you pay for it up front or can you add it to your booking and pay it down.

 

 

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[wallie5446]

Is there enough to do on Celebrity, I mean like entertainment, is it busy on sea days on the pool deck? How does Choice air work, do you pay for it up front or can you add it to your booking and pay it down.

 

 

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We book our own air can't help there.

 

Sea days by the pool, if you really want your husband in the hairy chest and leg contest, well it ain't gonna happen on Celebrity. If he wants you in a wet t-shirt contest it ain't gonna happen on RCCL or Celebrity. But if you are finally looking for a relaxing time to decompress from the stress of working 5-6 days a week, 50-60 hours at the grind, then Celebrity would be the ticket to punch for a relaxing time listening to the swoosh of the waves against the sides of the ship as it glides thru the deep blue sea.:D

[Sloop-JohnB]

My DW are in our mid 30s and have only sailed Carnival, not sure on AOS or Jewel and the Summit. I think we will probably do OV. I know Celebrity is more upscale and certain staterooms are limited to certain areas, any tips will be helpful.

 

 

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Is there enough to do on Celebrity, I mean like entertainment, is it busy on sea days on the pool deck? How does Choice air work, do you pay for it up front or can you add it to your booking and pay it down.

 

 

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We did Celebrity's Summit for the Southern Carribean (does Allure even go there? Thought they & Oasis just did Eastern & Western. Port / Piers are pretty small on some islands)

 

We loved our trip on The Summit... She does 2 Itineraries, alternating weeks. We did... San Juan, PR - Sea Day - Barbadoes - St Lucia - Antigua - Sint Maarten / St Martin - St Thomas, USVI - and back to San Juan

 

Fabulous trip... We plan to do it again some time as well as The Summits other Route

 

Regular Cabins & Concierge Class have access to 99% of the Ship. Aqua Class has the Blu DR (clean / healthy dining) and Persian Gardens (Spa Area) but even that you can buy a Day Pass to.

 

Right now Suite Pax are the same as everyone else... No special areas for them. Come April 2015 tho they too will have a seperate DR. For now they are designated to the MDR

 

We like the variety of offerings on Celebrity for things to do. Especially those that centre around food & wine but there are many others too.

 

Understand that some say the Entertainment overall is not as great as other lines... But we have certainly been satisfied by the nightly offerings... main theatre - bands / music - dancing - parties - late night adult comedy

 

Sea Days lots happening on deck and elsewhere. We usually come home saying how much we missed out on cause you can only be in one place at a time.

 

As for Choice Air we have ound it works much like any other airline only better.

 

We research our plans with other carriers first... dates, times, flights and then see what Choice Air quotes for the same* . They usually come in same, better or a tad over (depends on itinerary) advantage to Choice Air is the GUARANTEE to get you there. Figure that is worth something. Also easier to get refunded if something goes amiss (Celebrity cancels cruise)... But you still need to buy Trip Insurance !!

 

* Seems to be a little known fact, although the default is flights on Sail Days, you can change dates & times to your own plans / liking. We usually fly in early a few days before, and fly out a few days after our cruise

 

You can do your booking with Celebrity (we use a Phone Rep) or direct with Choice Air.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Cheers!

[luv2trvlnow]

I believe the AOS in this case is Adventure of the Seas, which does a Southern itinerary.

Sharon

Edited October 19, 2014 by luv2trvlnow

[MYCRUISEVACATIONS]

My DW are in our mid 30s and have only sailed Carnival, not sure on AOS or Jewel and the Summit. I think we will probably do OV. I know Celebrity is more upscale and certain staterooms are limited to certain areas, any tips will be helpful.

 

Personally, I would check out Celebrity Summit in March! From what I hear "$$$ savings if you Book now and receive a FREE $75 per cabin onboard credit on select categories, like I did. I booked and selected an oceanview category and got an additional $200 per cabin onboard credit (for a total per cabin onboard credit of $275), FREE pre-paid gratuities (a per cabin value of $168 to $217), or a FREE beverage package for two, which includes select alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages onboard (a per cabin value of $686).

As a Celebrity past passenger I paid a reduced deposit on my selected oceanview category. Hope you have my luck! :D

 

I love the itinerary including such great places as a full day in Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, St Thomas USVI, and a post overnight in San Juan (Old San Juan!) San Juan, Puerto Rico that is! I am flying Jet Blue and their Direct TV from my city to San Juan via Ft. Lauderdale! It is about 2.5 hours from Ft. Lauderdale! :D We found a cool offer on multi-port (all port) shore excursions at a discount, were only paying about the cost of port taxes to have shore excursions in every port!

 

In Antigua sites such as Nelson's Dockyard, Dow Hill Interpretation Center, and Shirley's Heights, oh and the Pineapple farm down south.

 

In Barbados we will visit the island's premier attraction, the Harrison Cave Tour, it is the right choice for me a return visitor.

 

In St Lucia well we will go through Castries where various points of interest will be pointed out to me,then follow the winding road up the Morne for a panoramic view of the city, the harbor and even as far as the island of Martinique on a clear day. (I'm hoping for great weather!) I plan to continue up to the Morne complex to view the Inniskilling Monument which was erected in honor of the 27th Inniskilling Regiment who captured the Morne from the French for the British in 1796. This area is also home to one of the island's highest Educational institutions, the OECS Secretariat and also the main television station on island. It will only be a short drive away to Caribelle Batik where I need a short stop to see the artist (one of my favorites :D :) creating her work of art by using hot wax and dye. You will also have a short opportunity for shopping for Batik items. Then I plan to continue our journey along the secondary roads through the hills on the outskirt of the city, taking you through small communities and with scenic views highlighting the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts. I want this trip to stop within the community of La Guerre, overlooking the Marquis Estate – which was once the largest banana plantation on the island, then on to Monchy, where I can see wonderful views of Rodney Bay and Pigeon Island and go down to the home of the Sony’s – Stony Hill. Looking out for a view of the Rodney Bay area. I sure can taste those cool drinks right now! ;)

 

In St. Maarten we will drive towards Cole Bay and Belle Vue making a photo stop at the Harold Jack lookout point, located high on a hill overlooking the sea where, (clouds permitting) you will have fantastic views of the neighboring islands of Saba (the home of Kong in the original King Kong movie) and St Eustatious to the south, and British Anguilla to the north. Also see Simpson Bay and Cupecoy, leaving Dutch I want French so Marigot the capitol takes over. Then Orient Bay a white powdered sand beach is protected from the Atlantic waves by a reef, and the bottom has a very gradual slope. It is the island’s most developed, most popular and busiest beach. I have planned out approximately 1 ½ hours to swim, beach walk with the wife.

 

In St. Thomas USVI, I have been several times, I plan to immerse in history-

St. Thomas has a history that dates back to 1500 B.C. and the Ciboney people. They were replaced by the Arawaks and then the Caribes, long before Christopher Columbus first saw the island in 1493 on his second voyage to the “New World.” Unfortunately, almost all signs of the pre-Columbus days have been lost to time. Most of the structures and ruins that remain date from the 16th and 17th century and include Blackbeard's Castle (Skytsborg), Fort Christian and Bluebeard’s Castle (Tower Fort) and I plan to see them before some serious shopping near the port in downtown Charlotte Amalie to experience its world-famous shopping or be taken back to the cruise ship dock.

 

I highly recommend the Summit as it will be our second journey this next spring (my birthday month of March!) :D

[wallie5446]

My DW are in our mid 30s and have only sailed Carnival, not sure on AOS or Jewel and the Summit. I think we will probably do OV. I know Celebrity is more upscale and certain staterooms are limited to certain areas, any tips will be helpful.

 

 

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Here is probably the best review for you to read, ever! This was their first Celebrity cruise, on the Summit, after 10 on Carnival. She took her Mother on the Summit 2 months later, give ya a hint on how she liked it!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1987902

[NOSaints1]

My DW thought that some areas were restricted if you didn't book a certain cabin, other than Blu or the Persian Gardens but other areas.

 

 

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[Mr. Click]

We have done the southern Caribbean on the Serenade of the Seas 3 times and the Summit once. Both are great. We did find the food on the Summit to be better than the SOS. Like the others said Blu and Persian Gardens are just for Aqua Class other than that it is an open ship. Oh Michael's Club on the Summit hosts a daily reception elite Captain's CLub members so that is sort of restricted too but not by cabin class. On the Summit Concierge Class cabins are a bit bigger than the OV and standard Veranda cabins. With just one sea day on those San Juan departures there is plenty to do for that one day. All of the itineraries are great. The only port we would not go back to is Dominica, once is enough for that one.

[wallie5446]

My DW thought that some areas were restricted if you didn't book a certain cabin, other than Blu or the Persian Gardens but other areas.

 

 

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The only venue with limited access is Michaels, which is for the highest of spenders. Well and of course the Captian's quarters!:D

 

What we do find strange are friends that pay hundreds more than us, book an AQUA cabin, but never dine in Blu nor make use of the Garden's???

Edited October 19, 2014 by wallie5446

[Lsimon]

Persian Gardens are not restricted to anyone. These have been an extra cost feature on the ship and preceded the introduction of Aqua Class by many years. Aqua Class cabins include the Persian Gardens as part of the AQ cruise fare. For other cabin types they remain an extra cost area.

 

Personally, the Persian Gardens do not appeal to us at all. We toured the area years ago and did not see anything there that we'd like to spend time at. The one time we sailed in AQ we didn't use the area at all. I know lots of other cruisers who do like the area and if one thinks they might enjoy it I'd recommend that they tour the area on embarkation day when spa tours are offered and decide for themselves if it is something they'd like.

[We're The Groupnors]

We've been on one Royal Caribbean cruise and enjoyed it, but we love Celebrity for the better food, better service, and less nickel and diming (I.e. not having to leave your room key to get a pool towel on Celebrity). Summit is one of our favourite ships, and we would not hesitate to sail on her again. We also love the southern Caribbean itinerary, with lots of port days and the guarantee of warm weather as soon as you set sail. On itineraries out of Florida we have often encountered cool weather for the first day or so until get get to the area of Puerto Rico, where you would leave from.

[gsb]

The beverage package is what would sway me to Celebrity. Then, the itinerary.;)

[NOSaints1]

My DW and I don't drink, just cause our meds, so I like to drink Coke and her Diet Coke. What kind of food do they offer, do they have like a steakhouse?

 

 

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[Sloop-JohnB]

My DW and I don't drink, just cause our meds, so I like to drink Coke and her Diet Coke. What kind of food do they offer, do they have like a steakhouse?

 

 

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Have you checked out Celebrity's Website ?

 

It is a good source for Factual Questions (CC is good for "feeling" ones or clarification)

 

Here is the link to The Summit pages

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/ships/celebrity-summit

 

Also suggest you look thru the Onboard Experience & Already Booked Sections. The FAQs will also give you a lot of basic background info.

 

Summit does not have a Steakhouse. Although there is Steak available everyday in the DRs and The Normandie Restaurant (personally we prefer steaks on land vs in a floating banquet facility... Just don't do a steak justice for us)

 

On that note... San Juan has an EXCELENT Morton's Steakhouse at The Caribe Hilton

 

On The Summit Eating Options are as follows:

 

MDR = Cosmopolitan Restaurant

Or Blu DR (Blu is designated DR for Aqua Pax)

Oceanview Buffet = Waterfall Grill & Cafe

AquaSpa Cafe (Clean Light Eats)

Mast Grill (Poolside Grill - Hotdogs, Hamburgers, Fries etc)

* Cafe al Bacio (Premium Tea & Coffee Shop - Eats here tho are Free)

* Gelateria (Gelatos)

* Bistro on 5 (Soups, Salads, Crepes & some Plated Meals)

* Qsine (modern culinary surprise - eating in a fun new way)

* The Normandie Restaurant (French Continental Service)

 

As well as Room Service (24/7). And during times when the MDR is open, you can also order items off that menu too.

 

* Those with an asterisk are part of Specialty Dining, and there is an upcharge. For more info see the Website for example Menues, Charges etc

 

If you guys are Pop Drinkers... You may find benefit in purchasing either a Soda Pkg, or a AI Non-Alcohol Bevvy Pkg

 

Again, see the Onboard Experience Section on the website for more info

 

Cheers!

Edited October 19, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[NOSaints1]

If you book a sky suite does it come with a regular bath tub or a soaker tub, or jacuzzi tub?

 

 

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[galavant3]

The beverage package is what would sway me to Celebrity. Then, the itinerary.;)

 

Same here. We cruise Royal Caribbean also but if I can book Aqua and get a beverage package for about the same price, to me it is a no brainer. (assuming the itineraries are comparable).

 

Regarding areas that you won't have access to, unless someone pointed it out, you wouldn't even notice. In my opinion, Michaels is not a great venue because of the location so that shouldn't be a big deal.

 

Keep in mind that they are all mass market lines and while there are a few extras on Celebrity, it is not a luxury line.

[Cruzaholic41]

My DW are in our mid 30s and have only sailed Carnival, not sure on AOS or Jewel and the Summit. I think we will probably do OV. I know Celebrity is more upscale and certain staterooms are limited to certain areas, any tips will be helpful.

 

To be honest, I would pick the AOS out of those 3. Next would be Jewel. I love the Summit, but the Millennium Class ships are getting a little dated compared to RCI ships and the activities aren't up to par with RCI. AOS is a blast, especially for your age group, and the entertainment is a lot better. The ice show is a must see.

[gsb]

Same here. We cruise Royal Caribbean also but if I can book Aqua and get a beverage package for about the same price, to me it is a no brainer. (assuming the itineraries are comparable).

 

Regarding areas that you won't have access to, unless someone pointed it out, you wouldn't even notice. In my opinion, Michaels is not a great venue because of the location so that shouldn't be a big deal.

 

Keep in mind that they are all mass market lines and while there are a few extras on Celebrity, it is not a luxury line.

 

I agree. That's why I don't think I would really like a "luxury" cruise line. I don't need a butler running around powdering my behind.

[bouhunter]

If you book a sky suite does it come with a regular bath tub or a soaker tub, or jacuzzi tub?

 

 

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My sympathies from a Detriot Lions fan - sorry I couldn't resist:D