Narrowed Our 1st Cruise Down To 2 Celebrity Options

[Host Jazzbeau]

Another vote for Summit out of San Juan:

• we did this exact itinerary on Summit and loved it

• our mistake was to fly in and out the day of -- we had no problems, but the taste of San Juan left us wanting more!

• Summit is a lovely ship, and since you are ok with the absence of flow-riders and other gee jaws you will love her classic ambience and the less-crowded feeling [i know that lots of people love Reflection, but I look at her passenger-space and passenger-crew ratios -- worst in the fleet -- would expect crowding everywhere]

• on a first cruise, I think it's best to limit sea days -- some people love them, but others find them boring [especially since Celebrity has cut back the cruise director's staff and therefore the variety of activities]. You can go for more sea days on your next cruise -- for which I would recommend the Eclipse 14-day Southern Caribbean itinerary. Also: sailing out of Miami in early January the first and last sea days may not be very warm, which would really interfere with a 7-day cruise.

[hcat]

Have been on Summit several times and Ref once..Summit will be cozier (but is older) and has a great T pool indoors...lots of ports but you can pick one or two to skip and stay on the ship or do half days in port for some.

 

Hope you do some tours even if on your own so you get to see more than just the pier areas... flights to San Juan and pre cruise hotel may be more costly than Miami but you may get to see more of San Juan pre or post cruise

 

Ref is our least fav S class ship...due to design and layout being a bit diff than its predecessors..we found it to be more of a party atmosphere, more crowded in some spotsbut not terrible, We did not like that the spa and solarium are on diff decks.. For a first cruise however, this may be a bettter choice...newer ship with WOW factor, probably more Specialty dining choices...and more sea days...easy on and off in Miami.

 

Either way, we rec AQ class with BLU, access to Persian Gardens (sauna, steam rooms) Relaxation Room....spa and PG on Ref are awesome and BLU is beautiful...

 

Good luck in picking one..have a great cruise!

[Wayah]

I cruise because it is a moving hotel room between really cool ports. We spend as little time on the ship as possible and LOVED the southern Caribbean itinerary. If you love active nonstop vacations go for San Juan. If you enjoy sitting at a pool for days at a time go Miami.

[Jeremiah1212]

I cruise because it is a moving hotel room between really cool ports. We spend as little time on the ship as possible and LOVED the southern Caribbean itinerary. If you love active nonstop vacations go for San Juan. If you enjoy sitting at a pool for days at a time go Miami.

 

I would agree with that logic. We're actually the opposite type. We cruise for sea days and the warm weather. Both intineraries have their pros and cons but would be two totally different experiences.

 

I personally would go against the majority and say Reflection for a first cruise. You would get a better sampling of cruising in general. Two extra at sea days to explore the ship and relax and you still have 3 ports to explore. From there you can probably determine if you're a sea day or a port person in the future. Do you want to have some down time or be a tourist on the go the whole trip? I think the Eastern itineraries offer the best combination of sea days and ports, even if they're not as interesting as Southern ports. However we are not ones that need entertainment on sea days. Give me a chair and a good view and I can sit there and soak it all in for hours. The Southern itinerary makes me feel like I may need a vacation after my vacation to recover.

[jsf]

I don't think the REAL Caribean starts until your south of San Juan.

Take the Summit

J.

[MarKay525]

Xpresser ... Editing is limited to 15 minutes of posting. <snip> Cheers!

 

Hi - Welcome to Cruise Critic. My vote is for the Summit - great size for a first cruise and an excellent itinerary, although there are some good arguments for the Reflection here too.

 

To add to the post above - I think one can edit a post within 15 minutes after posting. An Edit button appears in the lower right corner after you have posted. As long as it is there, you can edit. Once the post "times out" and the button disappears, the opportunity is gone.

 

To make a correction after the Edit button disappears, you can Quote your post and then post the correct information in the new post which will contain the text of the original one. (You can also remove text from the original post like I did with the <snip> above.)

 

Have a wonderful cruise on whichever ship you select.

Edited March 21, 2016 by MarKay525

[ezemoney]

xpresser,

 

congrats on your first cruise! my wife and I are just a few years older but have the same vacation style as you and your wife. we have been on the s-class ships and love them. they our very stylish and have great flow. we did a cruise out of san juan on the summit with close to the same itinerary and loved it. we will be on the summit again in august going to Bermuda! I will admit the port intensive cruise was tiring. we both like sea days in our cruises as well. we enjoyed both immensely!

 

leaving from Miami is great. nothing like a couple of days in south beach! san juan is a great place to leave from as well. it has so much history and old town is great with it's shopping, places of history(forts), and local cuisine.

 

so now that you are totally confused I would pick the reflection out of Miami.

either way both are great choices!

 

have fun !

 

ezemoney

[squidward]

Love the Summit itinerary but for first cruise I'd pick Reflection out of Miami with the extra sea days. Three sea days will give you a chance to see what cruising (& really relaxing) is all about. Enjoy whichever one you choose

 

I love sea days, but they aren't nearly as relaxing as staying on the ship when in port and you have the ship to yourself. No one says you have to get off at every port! I usually try to skip at least one port so I can enjoy the peace and quiet of any empty ship.

 

The other problem with sea days and sailing from FL is potential for rough seas and/or high winds when crossing over into the Caribbean. A first time cruiser might be better off sailing from San Juan, where you are more likely to encounter smooth sailing for the entire cruise.

 

I may be biased - I am sailing on Summit this coming Saturday!:)

[meatloafsfan]

If you want to test to see if cruising is something you'll enjoy in the future, I would go with the Reflection cruise.

 

The Summit is very port intensive; the Reflection gives you an opportunity to experience true "sea days" and determine if you're okay with the ship board offerings.

[Xpresser]

Wow! Thank you all for your responses. So many have brought up things that we never thought about. We have our work cut out for us trying to decide, that's for sure.

[Xpresser]

 

If you cruise out of Miami I would suggest the IC with a bay view, so you can watch your ship come into port early in the morning.

 

"IC"...would that be the InterContinental Hotel next to the Bayside Marketplace? If so that is very weird because not more than 10 minutes before reading your post I was looking at that Hotel on TripAdvisor. If we do the Reflection cruise, I think we will indeed stay at the IC...or in South Beach.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Our first cruise 3 years ago was on an RCCL ship out of San Juan. We have since done another cruise (TA) on that same ship, ending in San Juan. We've also done a couple on Celebrity Infinity.

 

1. I very much agree with your choice of Celebrity. Our experience is limited but we've been very happy.

2. Whenever we have an option for two similar cruises, we will choose the one which starts and/or ends in San Juan. Great place to spend time pre/post cruise. I don't mind passing through southern Florida to get to/from a cruise but I have zero interest in spending more than the bare minimum time there.

 

So I can't comment on the particular ships or itineraries you are considering, but if it were me I would be planning on San Juan. BTW on this last cruise I met a couple that owns a guest house in the Puerto Rican rain forest. Contact me for details & contact info if you like.

[gdpups]

I've been on Summit 4 or 5 times and was on Reflection this past January. One think I want to mention is the weather in January. On our Reflection cruise out of Miami (January) we weren't able to put on our bathing suit once that cruise as the weather for the most part was lousy. That's a chance you take in January whereas going out of San Juan the weather wouldn't be as risky.

 

The summit itinerary is more port intensive and I've done that one twice, it's one of my favorites. Just remember it's not like a port intensive European cruise, your ports are all Caribbean islands, so throw in some casual beach or shopping days and you can still have a very relaxing cruise.

 

One of my favorites ports is Barbados. Both times there we did private catamaran excursions that were incredible!

 

I tend to pick the "S" class ships for the ship experience and the Summit for the Itinerary although it's a very nice ship with a wonderful crew. The last two times I've been on her was in Aqua and I loved dining in Blu!

 

Have a wonderful cruise either way!

[CathyCruises]

"IC"...would that be the InterContinental Hotel next to the Bayside Marketplace? If so that is very weird because not more than 10 minutes before reading your post I was looking at that Hotel on TripAdvisor. If we do the Reflection cruise, I think we will indeed stay at the IC...or in South Beach.

 

We have stayed at the IC before and will be staying there again in just a few weeks before our reflection transatlantic. Both times, I got it on hot wire using their secret rates. I was keeping an eye on those rates and about two weeks ago I saw a 4.5 star hotel in the port area show up for $114. Was almost positive it was the Intercontinental and booked it in a hurry, and I was not disappointed. A couple of hours later a friend booked it on the same site and it had gone up to $138, still a great deal. So if you go that route, I would definitely check hotwire, more than once, to see if you can get a great deal too. (You can always do a conventional booking but keep an eye out for a good discount and then cancel the first booking if one comes through)

[jagoffee]

"IC"...would that be the InterContinental Hotel next to the Bayside Marketplace? If so that is very weird because not more than 10 minutes before reading your post I was looking at that Hotel on TripAdvisor. If we do the Reflection cruise, I think we will indeed stay at the IC...or in South Beach.

 

Yes, it is. South Beach if you staying a few extra days would be nice. Have fun with your decision. No way either choice would be a bad decision.

[Xpressers Boss]

I'm the wife/boss ;) of Xpresser. We made the decision to book the Summit. Xpresser will explain our reasons for the decision later tonight. We are very excited though!

[JTC1]

Our first (and still my only) cruise was in 2012 on the Summit out of SJ. We loved it! Cruising for us is a chance for the wife and I to get away from the kids and enjoy each other, so we don't get to do it often enough between the normal family vacations. We had the same dilemma when we decided to sail X in 2012. I think we made the right decision. Another thing to think about is budget. With the Summit out of SJ, you are likely going to spend more money on excursions.

If you want to see more of the beautiful islands of the Caribbean, the Summit is a no Brainer. Our favorite islands were Antigua and St. Lucia, and you only get those with the Summit. St. Thomas we could take it or leave it......

I am sure you will enjoy which ever you choose.

 

BTW we enjoyed the Summit so much we will be doing Bermuda on her in 2017.

[TLCOhio]

I'm the wife/boss ;) of Xpresser. We made the decision to book the Summit. Xpresser will explain our reasons for the decision later tonight. We are very excited though!

 

Great, smart choice!! Either one would have been a winner. Look forward to reading more of the details as to how you decided and which factors played out the largest in making your choice. Keep the good questions rolling along. Lots of experienced and good people on these boards who like to be helpful. Don't be shy in answer any and all future questions.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 36,826 views for these postings.

[monicajay]

I'm the wife/boss ;) of Xpresser. We made the decision to book the Summit. Xpresser will explain our reasons for the decision later tonight. We are very excited though!

 

Having cruised on both ships I think you made and excellent choice. As you can see we have cruised the Summit twice and would gladly book again but our dates have been chartered for both this year and next year.

 

We love arriving in San Juan a few days before and staying a night after. Makes for a perfect 10 night vacation. Also, we like that when we get off the plane it is already warm. When we arrived in Miami this year at 9pm on Feb. 26th it was 40 F. Yuck!!!

 

Summit is a wonderful smaller ship and will allow you to decide if you like cruising or not.

 

Hope you have a great trip!

[AZNative2000]

I'm the wife/boss ;) of Xpresser. We made the decision to book the Summit. Xpresser will explain our reasons for the decision later tonight. We are very excited though!

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic "Boss". I am sure you will both love your ship and your itinerary.:)

 

Cheers!

[Lastdance]

Since this is your first cruise, you will thoroughly enjoy all of your endeavors, some more than others, but everything will be new and exciting. You are not as "picky" on the first one, but after that you seem to find your way and that in itself guides you to the next cruise...yes, you will most likely be hooked. Think about booking onboard...there are some great deals to be had, so don't forget to at least check that out when you have some time.

Enjoy!:cool:

Edited March 23, 2016 by Lastdance

[Xpresser]

As my better half stated above, we finally decided and it was in large part due to the advice we received here. Thank you all so much!!!!

 

So basically we asked ourselves, "What have we done in our past vacations...lounge most of the day at the pool/beach or get out and explore?". We usually get up in the morning and catch some rays out at the pool or beach but then we are off to see as much...experience as much as we can. After realizing this, we felt the Summit itinerary would be best. I think I was also being lured by the beautiful Reflection, she is so gorgeous. But then I said, "What's more important to us...the ship or the destinations?".

 

We got the last Aqua Class cabin on the Summit. Well at least it's was the last according to Celebrity's site as well as Cruise.com and Costco Travel. Not sure if there are other travel companies that grab blocks of cabins for their customers. Oh...thank you to the one's who highly recommended the Aqua Class. After seeing your posts and then researching, we truly believe we will really love the extra's that come with it. We are on the 11th deck and aft view cabin. After looking at some photos of the Summit, I see that the 11th deck cabins have not always been there. Must have been added during a past retrofit but not sure what year that happened. The only bad thing I see about this cabin's location is that it's right above and below public areas. So we will see.

 

I was very excited about the thought of being on the big and gorgeous Reflection but now that we have made our decision and booked a cabin, I'm even more excited about the itinerary of the Summit. Plus we are indeed going to arrive in San Juan 2 or 3 days early to enjoy what it has to offer.

 

January can't come soon enough!

[Xpresser]

Our first cruise 3 years ago was on an RCCL ship out of San Juan. We have since done another cruise (TA) on that same ship, ending in San Juan. We've also done a couple on Celebrity Infinity.

 

1. I very much agree with your choice of Celebrity. Our experience is limited but we've been very happy.

2. Whenever we have an option for two similar cruises, we will choose the one which starts and/or ends in San Juan. Great place to spend time pre/post cruise. I don't mind passing through southern Florida to get to/from a cruise but I have zero interest in spending more than the bare minimum time there.

 

So I can't comment on the particular ships or itineraries you are considering, but if it were me I would be planning on San Juan. BTW on this last cruise I met a couple that owns a guest house in the Puerto Rican rain forest. Contact me for details & contact info if you like.

 

Hi GottaKnowWhen! We would be very interested in learning about the guest house in San Juan. I don't see a PM (private message) option on this forum though.

[TLCOhio]

I said, "What's more important to us...the ship or the destinations?". I'm even more excited about the itinerary of the Summit. Plus we are indeed going to arrive in San Juan 2 or 3 days early to enjoy what it has to offer. January can't come soon enough!

 

Appreciate these details about your process to analyze your personal priorities and the decision process. Clearly it was your choice to figure out wisely what best fits your needs and interests. Great work in considering these various options carefully and asking the right question on these Cruise Critic boards. Let us know any added questions on San Juan, these islands, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 209,949 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Xpresser]

Looks like I was mistaken on getting the "last" AQ class cabin. It was the last on deck 11 but looks to be plenty more on deck 9.