Summit or Jewel for Southern Caribbean

[cocacola86]

Just wondering your thoughts on Summit, to tell you about us were in our mid 30s, no kids and went to SC last year on Carnival going to St Thomas, St Lucia, St kitts, Barbados and St Maarten and loved it. We're going to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaco, Antigua and St Maarten for 8 days out of San Juan, the Summit would go to

 

St Croix, Fort de France, Roseau, St Kitts and St Thomas. Where as the Jewel goes to

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto

Port of Call: St. Croix, U.S. Virgins

St Maarten

Port of Call: Roseau, Dominica Dominica

Barbados

ARRIVES 08:00 DEPARTS 17:00 (DOCKED)

St. George's, Grenada Grenada

(CRUISING)

San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico

 

We don't like dressing up, partying, we like good food, going to shows, just relaxing. The Summit is 809 pp and the Jewel is 764 pp.

[Champagne Cruiser]

We are doing a B2B in Feb only the first week is the Summit and the second week is the Jewel. If you liked your Carnival cruise I think you will be happier on the Jewel. The Jewel will have better nightlife, the Summit will have better food.

[jabrown40]

We were on the Jewel 18 months ago, and were so disappointed we vowed not to return . (This was our 4th NCL cruise.) That being said, if you like the itinerary for less money, there are a couple of things that you would like - it is very relaxed, casual clothes every night. They had a formal night, some of the people dressed up, but most women were in pants or capris with nice tops. We were disappointed with the food in the MDR, spent five nights in specialty restaurants which helped. Service was uneven - staff sometimes didn't seem to understand English well, occasionally brought us wrong drinks or food due to language barrier. (This was in the Caribbean!) However, there is plenty of nightlife - shows were enjoyable, and the nightclub busy every night. I think a vacation is what you make it - you can either look for all the flaws, or just be glad to be away from the daily grind of work, basking in the sun, and enjoying each other's company.

[chemmo]

I thought Jewel was a Serenade class RCCL ship. If so we have travelled on her sister ship the Serenade. Both Summit and Jewel are nice sized, mid range ships. Both have two speciality restaurants. Summit would win for food and Jewel for later evening entertainment.

 

Other factors you may want to look at are included perks like drink packages or OBC which when you look at total cost could make one significantly more attractive than the other.

 

If you are looking at better rooms Celebrity wins for suite perks. I have cruised on the Summit SC and loved it but I would consider Jewel if the itinerary and price were good enough.

[hypercafe]

If you had a good time in Carnival, NCL is more like it. The difference is it is all open dinning and all resort casual. Celebrity will seem a little more formal. I like and use both lines so its a hard call, I would go with with the itinerary I like.

[QueensChick]

OP: Do you mean Jewel of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) or Norwegian Jewel (NCL)? There seems to be a little confusion.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cocacola86]

Jewel of the Seas

[karena1]

Just wondering your thoughts on Summit, to tell you about us were in our mid 30s, no kids and went to SC last year on Carnival going to St Thomas, St Lucia, St kitts, Barbados and St Maarten and loved it. We're going to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaco, Antigua and St Maarten for 8 days out of San Juan, the Summit would go to

 

St Croix, Fort de France, Roseau, St Kitts and St Thomas. Where as the Jewel goes to

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto

Port of Call: St. Croix, U.S. Virgins

St Maarten

Port of Call: Roseau, Dominica Dominica

Barbados

ARRIVES 08:00 DEPARTS 17:00 (DOCKED)

St. George's, Grenada Grenada

(CRUISING)

San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico

 

We don't like dressing up, partying, we like good food, going to shows, just relaxing. The Summit is 809 pp and the Jewel is 764 pp.

 

We love both jewel (Radiance Class) and Celebrity Summit. Honestly, if the itin is not a factor, Summit is a no brainer for me just b/c it includes the beverage package. With water/soda/drinks/specialty coffee included for about $50 more pp, not anything to think about for us. If Itin is an issue, then go with the itin you really want.

[cocacola86]

How is the age of ship, entertainment and activities? What cabin did you book

[chemmo]

Both are not the newest in each fleet but both are attractive ships with all the usual theatres....

 

RCCL tends to generally be a bit livelier, if you like organised activities there is always plenty to do. Celebrity does have trivia, wine tasting but lots of passengers when not doing excursions seem quite happy to relax by the pool. Generally the MDR meals on Celebrity are nicer but both main restaurants have a similar ambience. There are usually more children on RCCL. The speciality restaurants on Celebrity are more expensive than RCCL. On the Summit the Normandy, is French styled, includes table side preparation and is a really nice experience the other is called Q'sine and a bit gimmicky. On Jewel you have Chops which is a steakhouse and Portofino which is Italian. We obviously have not dined in these on Jewel but have on sister ships.

 

There is a wide range of room choices on both ships. I don't know what level of rooms you are looking for. The only rooms I have had on both is suites. If you are considering these rooms let me know and I will add more information. If not I'll let others explain the variety of rooms on both and the pros and cons of each.

 

In summary, I think you would enjoy both cruises. I would see Summit as being a better ' couples' cruise and Jewel a little livelier but honestly both will be good.

 

Have a great cruise.

[cocacola86]

Thing that bothers my wife is the dress code, and that you have to dress up and not dress the way you could on Royal

[chemmo]

I think you are overestimating the difference.

 

It is only in the MDR on Celebrity that formal dress code applies and that is two nights out of your cruise. Personally, most nights, I wear the same sort of smart casual outfit on both cruise lines. My family and I have always dressed up a bit more for formal night on both cruise lines, my husband in a suit and myself in a comfortable but classy dress. If you wear jeans and T shirts on a formal night on Celebrity you would look out of place but you also would on RCCL.

 

The common solution to not dressing up for formal nights is the same on both cruises, simply book one of the specialities and stay smart casual. I think you are overestimating the differences in dress code between the two lines. We have cruised both during holiday times in the Caribbean and far more adult only cruises world wide. We have seen the odd couple on both lines come into the MDR in the evening looking as if they have come in from the pool deck but most of the time on both lines men wear smart casual trousers and open necked shirts and the ladies have smart black pants or skirt with a variety of tops....

 

Honestly, I would say that you are being more influenced by the advertising hype of the cruise lines than the actual.....we do prefer the dining on Celebrity and the suite packages are substantially better, but I would still happily book either.

[vivi9909]

We sailed both: Summit in August 2014 and last June and Jewel OTS last January.

We are about 60 yo.

Both ships are more similar than different.

We are foodies and that aspect is important for us: Summit wins on that aspect in the MDR and specialty restaurants.

However, we were pleasantly surprised by some of the features of the Jewel: it is a very beautiful ship, especially the impressive Centrum. Decor and arrangement of the buffet was better than on the Summit.

The Jewel has things such as a climbing wall and a mini putt but these are not important factors for us.

Night shows are good on both ships. Service also seemed as par.

On the other hand, the interior pool was very cold (water and air) on the Jewel and not attractive at all; the T-pool of the Summit is much more enjoyable. We also missed the Oceanview bar at the aft of the Summit, a perfect place for sail away.

We prefer the Summit but, taking into account the price difference, the Jewel was a good value.

In your case, you should consider the itinerary as the important decision factor.

[Lazz]

We have never been on the Summit. We did a B2B on the Jewel last summer and loved it. I am not sure, but I believe the Jewel has been refurbished since then. When the wife and I went, we found the ship very well maintained and she had a fantastic crew that kept us entertained through out the trip. We had traditional dinning, but there were two specialty restaurants. Our server overheard me mention on July 3rd that it would be great to have apple pie and ice cream for the 4th of July. She made that happen for the whole table at dinner!

[snyniew]

I'm 42, no kids and did the Summit last March for SC and loved it. I choose Celebrity initially for the fact that there will usually be less kids on board and so far I've been right about that. Not that I mind kids but when on vacation I don't want to be over run with kids running and screaming.

 

Other than formal night I don't really dress up any more than I would at home, nice pair of capris and nice shirt. Other than that I think you can't go wrong with either ship so I'd base it on which has the best itinerary for you.

 

I'm actually booked on the Summit next mark with the itinerary you are looking at. I do enjoy the fact that I can get the beverage package included (depending on your room category) since when on vacation I do tend to like to have a few drinks throughout the day and I drink a ton of water so the bottled water I drink almost covers the drink package w/ out the wine or martini's I may partake in.

[cocacola86]

We would book an interior cause there's so many ports

[cocacola86]

How is the Summit, like age or is it need of repair in certain areas, overall age of the passengers, and activities you can do during the night

[snyniew]

How is the Summit, like age or is it need of repair in certain areas, overall age of the passengers, and activities you can do during the night

 

I didn't notice the age of the ship as everything we well kept and very nice. I always found something to do and didn't make it back to my room until 1:30 or later every night. That may depend on your sailing but our rollcall had a great group and we would meet up every night and go to the later show and then up to Revelations for dancing. It was never packed with people but enough to have a fun time.

[CanadaDeb]

I have only done 3 cruises, but the Jewel was my very favorite. The ship is beautiful and it was the best food I've had on a cruise....just my opinion... enjoy your cruise :)

[digital_curator]

We are in our early 40's (started cruising in our early 30's) with no kids. I love both these classes of ships. We like that X has fewer children, though I'm not sure how many you with have on a southern itinerary on either line. RCI does a great job of keeping kids busy on the larger ships but they don't have as much separate space on the Jewel. You will have lots of people your age on RCI but we think the average is getting younger on X too.

 

We have always thought that the ships themselves are very similar in terms of size and layout. I love the art on Celebrity ships (big name artists) but it is good on RCI too. Rooms are also similar, though we have always had a CC on X with a little more space and a few perks.

 

We think the menu selection is more varied on RCI but better quality on X, especially the desserts. We love the beverage package on X.

 

We think service is a little more formal on X but more friendly/genuine on RCI. Just our experience. We had a hoot with our last waitstaff on X though, and a great bar waiter on the one before. But we have been truly WOWEd by the people on RCI.

 

 

We love the shows on RCI but rarely go on X. But the drink package might be an influence and we travelled with a large group last time. The variety and quality of live music on X is awesome and we spend more time doing this.

 

Both itineraries sound great. I think you will enjoy either one!

 

Cheers,

[cocacola86]

We don't drink alcohol, mostly just pop, how is the space in Inside, I think it's better on more ports than sea days. I found on Carnival there wasn't much pools, small I don't know how it is on RC or X. What would you say the pros and cons about each ship is?

[Champagne Cruiser]

We are mixing apples and oranges here, folks. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe the poster is talking about Royal Caribbean's Jewel if the Seas, not NCL.

[cocacola86]

Can you book Celebrity, while on RC and vice versa. I was listening to Cruise Radio and they were talking about a guys cruise in the reflection and was commenting on the food and service, does it vary ship to ship or is it consistent across the board.