Review - Summit from SJ - Southern Caribbean

[gsu_paintballer]

My wife and I (late 20s) have been loyal Carnival cruisers from our first cruise together in 2009 up until 2014. During that time, we took eight trips on Carnival, as the prices generally couldn’t be beat. In 2015, we found a deal on the Silhouette that turned out to be great (we wound up sailing on the Reflection instead, but that’s in the link below in my signature if you want to read about it), and we loved our trip. As long as Celebrity remains competitive, we will remain with them, and we already have our 2016 trip booked also.

 

We decided to spend the night in Atlanta before the flight, and stayed at the Hilton downtown. Obviously being familiar with the area, my wife had already planned out a couple things for us to do that night, and we spent our time in Buckhead at Vine & Tap and then had a burger and a couple drinks at Stillhouse before turning in for the night.

 

We flew from Atlanta to San Juan on Thanksgiving Day. Everything went smoothly in Atlanta, and we landed in San Juan ahead of our expected time. From there, we took a taxi ($22) to the Condado Plaza Hilton, where we would spend our next two nights. Checkin at the hotel was easy, and we made it up to our room, which was very spacious and had a nice balcony view of the bay and the city.

 

Due to travelling, we were pretty tired, so we grabbed dinner at Cayo Blanco after wandering down Ashford Avenue for a while, and we were pleasantly surprised with the presentation and quality of the meal. I would recommend if you are in San Juan overnight and you’re looking for a mid-range meal in the Condado area.

 

On Friday, we rented a couple bikes from Robert at http://sanjuanbikerental.com/ . We had a great time biking from Condado to OSJ, and wandered around doing some sightseeing after having lunch at Barrachina. It was good as usual (we tend to come here each trip), and we struck back out on the bikes headed for Condado. If you decide to bike around, be aware that the city is either very bike friendly or very bike unfriendly. Some areas have nice bike paths or wide sidewalks, but others have nonexistent sidewalks. Being very much a novice biker, some of it was difficult for me, but she handled it like a champ. We took it easy the rest of the day, with her getting a manicure and pedicure from Manzanas Salon, and us getting dinner from Pirilo Pizza Rustica, which wasn’t far from our hotel.

 

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We embarked about 11 AM on Saturday. We had about a 15-20 minute delay waiting outside the terminal, and then we breezed through and were one of the first 100-200 people on the ship. I confess that we broke the rules and went to take our carryons to our room (which was actually already clean). On that note, our room steward did a fantastic job the entire cruise and was awesome.

 

That night for dinner, we took advantage of a discount offer and had dinner at Qsine, which was amazing. I can’t even begin to list the different things we tried (but I can say we probably ordered one or two items too many). Our server, Ben, was great, and we made sure to let the person in charge know that he was great when he stopped by to check on everything. Before dinner, we spent some time listening to a piano entertainer at Cafe Al Bacio and an acoustic duo called Sugar and Honey or something like that. They did a great job, and we listened to them multiple times throughout the cruise, although they were usually in the Rendezvous lounge and it was poorly attended.

 

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Our first day was a sea day, and a good opportunity to unwind after flying and a couple days in PR. We were able to grab a couple chars on the second row by the pool, which was good because they were relatively shaded. Fear not, the chair hogs were out in full force. Chairs were probably 30% occupied by bodies and 70% occupied by belongings. Oddly enough, there were only about 20 people in the pools. Strange math, I guess. We spent most of our afternoon out there before having our first dinner in Blu for the week. She had the lamb, and I had a NY strip (as I do quite often). Our sommelier was entertaining and personable.

 

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We spent almost every port visit at a beach, with some visits better than others. The exception to this was in Antigua. Someone on our roll-call found the “Cat Tales II” catamaran tour with James and Sheryl, and it was fantastic. We sailed out to a snorkeling spot, with a stop there for a while (I’m not a snorkeler, so I just relaxed in the water). Afterwards, we headed over to a location closer to shore to stop for lunch and some more time in the water. Lunch was served as a delicious chicken and greek salad combo. The cost was reasonable (about $110pp) and our hosts were fantastic.

 

For our beach stops, we went to the following:

Barbados - Harbour Lights/Carlisle Bay - Here, we rented a jet ski for a while to get us some action time as opposed to just hanging on the beach all day. The price was reasonable ($45 for a half hour if I remember right) and the guys running the operation were great. I happened to be wearing a blue shirt and some yellow swim shorts, so most of them made comments about me being dressed appropriately for the Barbadian Independence Day. That got quite a few laughs from the group. There was a reasonably priced bar with food and drinks available, and we had lunch there.

 

St. Lucia - Rodney Bay/Reduit Beach - We stopped at the port area to get a taxi, prepaid and received our return trip voucher, and then proceeded to wait about 30 minutes. I got frustrated with that, and we finally asked for our money back, walked less than a half mile, and hopped into a taxi with another guy for the same cost, who took us alone rather than waiting on it to fill up. He was right there waiting on us when we returned at the agreed upon time. Now, I will say that he took us to a different end of the beach than the other taxis were going to, which was fine with me. There was less going on, and it was more about quiet time and relaxing, as opposed to the other end, which was crowded and had the inflatables in the water and such. We parasailed for $45pp, and the guys running that operation were also very nice and hospitable. One of them took pictures for us as we were in the water, including pictures of the surrounding area (which he did a great job on).

 

Another positive was that we probably only ran into about 4-5 people walking down the beach selling things, and all were respectful when we politely declined (although they may have been overly appreciative of our politeness due to the extremely rude people a few chairs down from us). We spoke to other guests that indicated they went to the other end of the beach and were constantly approached by very pushy people.

 

St. Maarten - We’ve been here before, and elected to take the day off. We were both very tired from a long day on the water in Antigua, as is expected with a port intensive cruise like this. We walked off the ship to grab a magnet and Christmas ornament (yes, we collect things like our grandmothers, even though we’re 20-somethings) and then spent the day lounging by the pool.

 

St. Thomas - Sapphire Beach - We were told that Magen’s Bay was closed for the week (didn’t bother to verify - more on this later), so we went to Sapphire Beach, instead. We rented a couple chairs for $18 and slid them into a shaded area. We weren’t overly impressed by the beach area, but it was sufficient. I was surprised that it seems to generally come so highly recommended. They did serve reasonably priced food and drinks, which we decided to have for lunch that day.

 

The reason we didn’t bother verifying our taxi driver’s story about Magen’s Bay was basically due to him getting in a shouting match with a fellow passenger. The guy didn’t seem to understand that a typical taxi arrangement in the Caribbean (unless you arrange it on your own, of course) and was frustrated by a short wait. Now, I’m not going to completely fault him, as I got annoyed by our wait in SL, but this was much much shorter. They continued to shout at each other as we drove away.

 

Overall opinions:

SAN JUAN

We’ve loved our port stops here, which is the reason we decided to fly in early. We had a great time aside from lacking hot water in our shower at the Condado Plaza Hilton. The hotel claimed to have fixed the problem, but it wasn’t actually fixed. I booked through hotels.com and I gave them a call to discuss, and they quickly refunded me the cash amount I’d paid for the hotel (I paid with some cash and some rewards credit). Hotels.com has always done me right (I travel to small towns, so I stay in a lot of different brands and their rewards program is the best).

 

SHIP/STATEROOM

I was pleasantly surprised by the interior condition of the ship given its age. It was easy to navigate, which was pleasant. We found the pool areas to be nice and spacious.

 

Our AQ room was well-appointed (although we did miss the footstools that we had on the Reflection). Our Deck 11 location was great for running down to the pool/buffet/Sunset Bar. We did have some troubles with the toilet and sink, but plumbing seemed to be a bit of an issue for some reason.

 

DINING

Other than stopping by for a piece of pizza in the afternoons, we only ate one meal in the buffet outside of breakfast and embarkation day. Overall, everything we did have was good and I had no complaints. We ate at Qsine (our first time) on the first night and it was FANTASTIC. Our server, Ben, was very attentive and did a great job. We made sure to deliver some compliments about him when someone came around to check on us and make sure everything was going ok.

 

Our service in Blu was awesome, as usual. The hostess, Linda, was very personable and always took time to make us feel welcome each night. The maitre d, David, was quick to stop by and speak to us each night and was very friendly. The sommelier, Luis, did a great job with wine recommendations, and we had a couple great waiters in Billy and Gabriel.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We enjoyed listening to the duo Honey and Sugar in the Rendezvous lounge most nights. They sang a variety of songs, and we thought they did a great job. Unfortunately, that lounge seemed to be used only for passing through to dinner and their shows were poorly attended. There was also a piano entertainer most nights in Cafe Al Bacio, and we enjoyed him quite a bit. We saw one comedian, Jay Reid, in the main theater show and enjoyed his performance. Unfortunately, we stayed up for his final show at 11 PM on the final night and it wound up being a repeat performance to an almost empty theater. I hate leaving a show early, but we did that night.

 

Though we enjoyed several acts, we were overall disappointed in the response to attempts to create entertainment venues on the ship. I suppose the age of the passenger base skewed much older due to the more expensive trip, so this was a shock after our experience on the Reflection.

 

BAR SERVICE

As I’ve mentioned earlier, we spent most nights in the Rendezvous for a pre-dinner drink. The bartenders there (Delroy, Maria, Olga) were fantastic. We tended to gravitate towards a particular server around the pool and Sunset, named Rodolfo. He remembered our card info, so we didn’t have to worry about carrying that around the pool, and remembered our orders as well. I know that may seem like something small to most people, but it makes the service feel much more personal and intimate.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was a great trip and we will continue sailing on Celebrity in the near future. We are booked for the Infinity for 10 nights next year, and hope to enjoy that one as much as we have our first two Celebrity cruises. I would be glad to provide any information anyone would like. Feel free to ask!

[richsea]

Thanks for sharing! We've done this itinerary a few times & really like Summit. Love your tip about the taxies in St. Lucia, l'll have to remember that next time! Been to that beach a few times; did you happen to see the guy in the little boat that sails by selling fruit? He's been there for years!

[HawaiianShirtDay]

Thank you for your review. My wife and I also collect magnets. Last year, we purchased this magnet board, spray painted it white, hung it on the wall, and put all of our travel magnets on it. It's become a great conversation piece in the house. http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/10159443/

[gsu_paintballer]

Thanks for sharing! We've done this itinerary a few times & really like Summit. Love your tip about the taxies in St. Lucia, l'll have to remember that next time! Been to that beach a few times; did you happen to see the guy in the little boat that sails by selling fruit? He's been there for years!

 

Actually, yes, we did. Interesting to hear from someone who's seen him years ago.

 

Thank you for your review. My wife and I also collect magnets. Last year, we purchased this magnet board, spray painted it white, hung it on the wall, and put all of our travel magnets on it. It's become a great conversation piece in the house. http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/10159443/

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll show this to my wife.

[richsea]

Actually, yes, we did. Interesting to hear from someone who's seen him years ago.

......

 

Wow, can't believe he's still there. I checked our photos, & we first saw him back in 2000! He must be an institution, or there's more than one of them, lol!

[Barwick Cruiser]

Thank you for this review! We are doing a b2b on Summit in Feb and I'm interested in hearing more about your visit to Reduit Beach. Do you remember how much the cab cost and since you were at a more unpopular section was it easy to find a return cab? Also, we would prefer the quieter end as well...any idea if there's a reference we can tell the cab driver so we end up there? Were there loungers/umbrellas for rent as well as access to food and washrooms?

 

We've been to St. Lucia twice but have done Cosol's tour both times so this time we just want to do the beach thing.

 

Thanks!

Cathy

[gsu_paintballer]

Thank you for this review! We are doing a b2b on Summit in Feb and I'm interested in hearing more about your visit to Reduit Beach. Do you remember how much the cab cost and since you were at a more unpopular section was it easy to find a return cab? Also, we would prefer the quieter end as well...any idea if there's a reference we can tell the cab driver so we end up there? Were there loungers/umbrellas for rent as well as access to food and washrooms?

 

 

 

We've been to St. Lucia twice but have done Cosol's tour both times so this time we just want to do the beach thing.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Cathy

 

 

We paid the same as the area near the ship. He initially asked for double and I just told him we'd be willing to do the cost at the ship. He agreed and we went on our way.

 

He dropped us off at Rex Resorts or something similar to that. It seemed strange at first, but turned out just fine. I think we paid $15 for the chairs and umbrella.

 

There was bathroom access and I believe someone came by selling food and drink, but we didn't purchase anything.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Barwick Cruiser]

We paid the same as the area near the ship. He initially asked for double and I just told him we'd be willing to do the cost at the ship. He agreed and we went on our way.

 

He dropped us off at Rex Resorts or something similar to that. It seemed strange at first, but turned out just fine. I think we paid $15 for the chairs and umbrella.

 

There was bathroom access and I believe someone came by selling food and drink, but we didn't purchase anything.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That's great, thanks!

[gsu_paintballer]

That's great, thanks!

 

I just realized I never put the amounts in there. It was $28 at the dock and he wanted $25pp. I told him I'd pay $15 each way and he quickly accepted and we were on our way. I did not pay for the return trip until we arrived back at the area we initially met.

[Barwick Cruiser]

I just realized I never put the amounts in there. It was $28 at the dock and he wanted $25pp. I told him I'd pay $15 each way and he quickly accepted and we were on our way. I did not pay for the return trip until we arrived back at the area we initially met.

 

Just to clarify...$15 pp each way?

[gsu_paintballer]

Just to clarify...$15 pp each way?

 

 

No, $15 for the taxi and we didn't have to worry about sharing with anyone else. So the round trip cost $30 total.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[farmerslou]

[quote name=gsu_paintballer;48448419

 

 

We spent almost every port visit at a beach' date=' with some visits better than others. The exception to this was in Antigua. Someone on our roll-call found the “Cat Tales II” catamaran tour with James and Sheryl, and it was fantastic. We sailed out to a snorkeling spot, with a stop there for a while (I’m not a snorkeler, so I just relaxed in the water). Afterwards, we headed over to a location closer to shore to stop for lunch and some more time in the water. Lunch was served as a delicious chicken and greek salad combo. The cost was reasonable (about $110pp) and our hosts were fantastic.[/quote]

 

My wife and I traveled to Sandals in Antigua 3 years ago. We were very fortunate to be able to privately charter with James and Sheryl onboard Cat Tales II. We absolutely loved it, and their British charm. We spent 8 hours on board with them, exploring many places. One of the most memorable was a personal request I made to James and Sheryl. I asked, and they granted my wish to have them drop my wife and I off at a deserted beach for 2 hours. They gave us an enormous umbrella for shade, bottle of champagne, and a picnic lunch. It was amazing. It was very near Hermitage Bay resort on the island (which is also magnificent).

 

Anybody visiting Antigua and considering the catamaran tour should definitely contact James and Sheryl. Please note, however, that there is another catamaran tour company that uses the name Cat Tales. They are not the same company. I cannot speak as to their service one way or the other, I just know that James and Sheryl were wonderful.

[raynvic]

How funny, we were on this same cruise and went to Jalousie Beach with Spencer Ambrose. A guy in a small canoe type boat came up to shore, it was loaded with delicious fresh fruit. You could get a container full with every type of fruit he had, some I had never heard of. Cost was $10 and well worth it. Must be more than one of them that visits beaches.

[Guinness1000]

Thanks for that great review! We'll be on it Dec26. Getting very excited about it. :)

[gsu_paintballer]

Thanks for that great review! We'll be on it Dec26. Getting very excited about it. :)

 

No problem. I'd be glad to answer any questions you have.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[Laurents]

Thanks for the review! Do you recall how much Qsine was discounted on the first night?

[Ashclan]

We were on the same sailing. Qsine was being offered for $35 pp on the first night. We didn't want to go until Monday, so they checked the reservations for that night and offered us $36 pp for that night. The regular price is $45, I believe, but it appeared pretty easy to negotiate for a discount, and not only for night #1. Mustafa was set up by the buffet area entrance several times during the week, and he was offering us discounts any time we stopped to chat. (He remembered us from the cruise terminal!)

 

We really enjoyed it, too, and we paced ourselves pretty well, so it didn't feel terribly gluttonous. I would've considered going a second time, but the week just got away from us!

[gsu_paintballer]

Thanks for the review! Do you recall how much Qsine was discounted on the first night?

 

20% as mentioned above by the other poster.

[farmerslou]

When the ship docks here, we are going to the beach area near Hermitage Bay. When we chartered Cat Tales II, Jim and Sheryll took us there. The beaches are amazing here, and there is virtually nobody there. Can't wait!