Review of Summit Panama Canal Eastbound 14-Night Cruise ~ 10-23-05 thru 11-6-05

[Host Karen]

We are taking this same cruise next November on Infinity, and I want to thank you both for the reviews. I've added them to my subscribed threads list so I can refer to them in the future. We, too, chose a port cabin so we could see the coast on the way south, so I'm especially pleased to learn from Heather that we will further benefit from the sunsets on the way from Aruba to Fort Lauderdale. It's the best of both worlds!

 

There are only three of us chatting on our roll call, but I have a feeling that your reviews will encourage some more CCers to book this trip and hopefully come visit our thread.

 

Thanks again!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Howard, hi!!! Finally we meet! As I read your post I thought for a minute you were talking about my husband and me on our balcony:) ! But he's way better than "fairly" good looking. And he didn't drop his towel (or even wear one)! But it sure was fun waving from one ship to another!

 

I have a great pic of you on the Radiance in the Panama Canal so when I post my pics (some are up, some are not), be sure to look for it.

 

Karen, rest assured you'll see sunsets on the Mexican side, too. If you click on my photo home page in my signature, you'll see I have some of my pix up (though not nearly done). All the sunsets are taken from my balcony. The way the ship docks and anchors has a lot to do with it.

 

I meant to mention that leaving Acalpulco was magnificent during our dinner hour. They left the curtains up that night and as we pulled away the twinkling lights of Acalpulco seemed like a million stars ... absolutely magnificent! Look for that on your cruise.

[Eliger]

Great photos Heather!!! I liked those at the Mayan Palace in particular. Good memories for us having spent two weeks there last December. I also have photos of the condos if you were interested in seeing those. It complements the beauty of the whole resort. They were the nicest rooms I've ever seen at beach resorts.

Thanks again for posting your photos. Looking forward to seeing the others. Can't wait for our cruise in December. :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Eliger, you were the first! I've been uploading them tonight and no one has seen them yet. I have so many more to do and for some reason Webshots has them out of order. I just can't do anymore tonight because my head is spinning!!!:D I'll get them all done tomorrow and will post a thread saying they're up for those who aren't following this thread anymore!

 

I'd love to see your photos of the condos (didn't know there were any). Did you stay at the resort? We thought it a bit pricey, but magnificent and unlike anything we had ever seen.

[BRONZEMEMBER]

My wife and I will be taking the 14 day Panama Canal Cruise, What side of ship should I have a cabin on, :confused: port or starboard. Can I see more from the veranda depending what side I am on.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Bronzemember, if you read back a few posts you'll see opinions on this. But in the Panama Canal it really makes no difference which side you're on. I have always booked port side on all cruises ... just a personal choice.

 

You never know which side of the locks you'll be on. We were on the right side at Milaflores and the left and Gatun. When you're on the right side and there's another ship along with you, it's fun to see that ship go through, too. But that's not decided until you're entering the locks.

 

So in the end it really makes no difference.:)

[Eliger]

Eliger, you were the first! I've been uploading them tonight and no one has seen them yet. I have so many more to do and for some reason Webshots has them out of order. I just can't do anymore tonight because my head is spinning!!!:D I'll get them all done tomorrow and will post a thread saying they're up for those who aren't following this thread anymore!

 

I'd love to see your photos of the condos (didn't know there were any). Did you stay at the resort? We thought it a bit pricey, but magnificent and unlike anything we had ever seen.

Heather, I'm sending you an e-mail with some photos. I have several that were taken in the apartment and a few others.

It should give you more insight of the Mayan Palace resort. ;)

[Host Karen]

Heather, I was looking at your photos (they are terrific, by the way) and saw a photo captioned "Rich and Sandy." Where they by any chance from New Jersey? If so, we sailed with them on Brilliance on the partial Panama Canal transit a year ago February. It's a small world. If you're still in touch, please tell them that Karen (olliekl) says hello!

 

Karen

[HeatherInFlorida]

Karen, yes! That's them for sure because they live in NJ half the year and here half the year. They've posted on here ... "Our Dream" so maybe they'll come on and see your post. But I'll tell them you said "hi" because we're definitely planning to get together down here. Great people!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hi Everyone! I've uploaded my pix to Webshots so take a peek! There are hundreds so I've tried to label each album. Hope you all enjoy them!!! For some reason has them backwards, but they're numbered in order.

 

Here's the link: http://community.webshots.com/user/heatherinflorida

[highworth]

Fanatastic reviews. We are leaving this coming week for the identical cruise. Question for Heather...regarding clothes (as we are nearing the packing stage!!)...short on anything or anything you took you didn't need? Was it very hot and humid?

Many thanks...and fantastic pictures...

[HeatherInFlorida]

Highworth, lucky lucky you! I planned out everything I would be wearing evenings knowing there were 3 formal, 4 informal and 7 casual. In the end there were 3 formal, 3 informal and 8 casual. So I had exactly as much as I needed for that.

 

But I did overpack for daytime. I just didn't need as much as I brought. I had about 3 pair capris, 4 pair shorts and multiple tops and shirts. Just not necessary. So figure what you think you will need and take away about 1/3 of it. I took away quite a bit before leaving and I could have eliminated at least 1 top, 1 pair of capris and 1 pair of shorts. On the other hand, how much space did they take up:o ?

 

My husband had 1 large suitcase and a carry-on. I had 1 large suitcase and 2 roll-ons (the kind you would take on a plane with you). In one roll-on I had all my shoes except 2 pair (in case the luggage was lost). I put all toiletries and heavy type items in the roll-on I took onboard the plane to make sure my very large suitcase did not exceed 50 pounds.

 

Don't forget we rented my husband's tux so that helped a lot with his packing.

 

Have a wonderful trip! If I can help anymore, let me know:)

[jagoffee]

Heather and Steve, thank you for the very concise reviews. A lot of very helpful information. I thought you might be able to answer a few questions for me.

 

1. Does the Summit offer C.F. Diet soda?

 

2. My wife and I really enjoy snorkeling. We have snorkeled many places, our favorite being the F.P. We are taking this cruise in Feb. 2006 and we are thinking of leaving our snorkeling gear at home based on the various comments about snorkeling in the Mexician Riveria. Also it might be a little cool in Feb., and jelly fish might be a problem. We have previously snorkeled in Aruba and although it was very nice, we want to do something else on that island. What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you think that we would be really disappointed with the snorkeling?

 

Thank you.

[HeatherInFlorida]

jagoffee, I'm afraid I don't know what C.F. Diet Soda is, but I don't think they have it. They have Diet Coke. Maybe someone else knows and you could ask on the main Celebrity board to see.

 

As for snorkelling, maybe Steve will see your post and reply. Personally, ever since we snorkelled in French Polynesia we've been forever spoiled. Nothing compares with it. But my guess would be that most certainly nothing along this itinerary will come close and my personal suggestion would be to do other things. That's what we did. The people we talked with said they really didn't see much and the Mexican waters are somewhat murky.

 

So the only place would be Aruba. Steve could tell you more.

[jagoffee]

Heather, thanks.

 

Sorry, C.F. is Caffeine Free. I was interested in whether they service Caffeine Free diet Pepsi or Coke. My wife cannot have caffeine. If they do not have any, I will just have to bring some. Perhaps I will try to main board, if Steve does not know.

 

Also, thank you for your input on the snorkeling. I was trying to confirm what I had already pretty much decided. Although the ports on this cruise would not normally be ones that I would select, Aruba is the only one that I have previous visited, I am sure that we will find them very enjoyable. We always like to visit new and different places.

 

Which of your excursions was your favorite?

 

We have taken the F.P. cruise twice, once on the old Ren. and once on the T.P. As you know it is hard to beat for any water related activities, but I am really looking forward to the Panama Canal.

[AFT_LOVER]

We sail Sunday the 20th for 2 weeks Trans canal & I am ready for it waiting 15 months since we booked it tho we did do TA before.

 

12 hours til we schlep the airport & fly 5 hours to LAX to board a bus to San Pedro & get on!

 

CDS premiere on our cruise a 30 minute theatre performance titled "A Taste Of..." so that will be a nice addition to a great cruise as AFT CC.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Macop, if you see this ... Bon Voyage!!! I am soooooooooooooooo jealous. The trip is worth every minute. Have an amazing cruise.

 

Jagoffee, sorry ... I should have realized. No, I don't think they do, but that's just a guess. If it's a problem for your wife then I would definitely bring it. They may have something like a Fresca, though. Why don't you call and ask if you don't get an answer here. I would call Ship's Services.

 

We cruise French Polynesia on the Wind Star (Wind Song while she was still above water) and stayed on Moorea and Bora Bora. For us Bora Bora was the most extraordinary snorkelling on the face of the earth and we've never come close since.

 

The Panama Canal cruise is an awesome experience that will always rate up there with my top favorites ever. I wasn't thrilled with the excursions as you can see from my review. But of the 3 we did, the best was the aerial tram in Costa Rica, but even that had parts that were not that great. It's way overpriced at $118 pp. We were told at the park they charge $59 for someone walking in on their own and that's also just too much money. So I don't fault Celebrity because they also furnished an extremely nice bus and a great tour by the tour director.

 

So I guess my favorite "tour" was the one that cost nothing ... going through the Panama Canal:) . They have a man who comes on board and narrates from the bridge for almost the entire time. The entire day was a highlight of the cruise for me.

[Nanner]

Heather and Steve, thanks for the info as I'm going to be cruising through the canal with Karen come next November. I was wondering if you can hear the narration about the transit in your rooms, or do you need to be out on deck?

 

We plan to spend a fair amount of time on transit day on our aft balcony, but I know we'd like to hear at least some of the explanation of the process that is provided by the ship.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Nancy, yes. They did have some technical difficulty at the start of the narration, but they got it fixed. You tune the TV to the bridgecam and you see the bow of the ship and hear the narration. In fact some of the pix I have are photos of the TV screen.

 

We cheated and left our door open a bit that day so we could hear (it wasn't as hot as it can be in Panama that day). You can hear the narration throughout the ship as well.

 

Except for a walk to the bow and the starboard from time to time, we enjoyed the scenery for the most part from our verandah.

 

Believe it or not I asked my DH if we could take the same cruise next year and he thought I'd lost my mind:) , but I enjoyed it that much.

[jagoffee]

Heather,

 

We particularly enjoyed a F.P. drift snorkel trip booked via the ship.

 

I noticed that you are taking a 10 cruise in the Southern Caribbean. That was our first cruise on the Summit. You should really enjoy it. The snorkeling in St. Martin was very good. Before the F.P. it was our favorite. We have been to St. Martin twice, the 2nd time we rented a car. The car rental place in near the ship. I do not recall the name, but you can drive to a place that has boats that take you to an near by island. If you are interested, I can look it up.

 

Thank you for the feedback.

[mountainmare]

Heather

Great review. Last January we did the reverse on the Oosterdam, the only port difference is that for some reason HAL (a Dutch ship) stopped in Columbia instead of Aruba (a Dutch state).

As long time HAL loyalists we could not resist the itineray of the Millennium in the Med next year so we booked our first Celeb cruise. I was so happy to read your honest comparison of the two lines.

Thanks again!!!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Jag, our Southern Caribbean cruise will not include St. Maarten although we've been there a couple of times. We rented a car thru "Best Deal" car rentals and is WASN'T (the best deal):D . Our route includes Aruba, St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Curacao and Dominica.

 

Mountain, that should be an amazing trip and I hope you enjoy it. I hope you'll come back and tell us how it compares with your experiences on HAL.

[Longboysfan]

Thanks for the photo journal.

Loved the canal photos.

Guess it's time to start buying the filn for my trip.

[bremmerh]

Thanks so much for the great reviews!! I am so excited to sail on the Summit for our Christmas/ New Year's cruise. Did anyone have their hair done up in the Aqua Spa? Also do you remember what movies they had showing? Well, I think you have me hooked on the Persian Gardens, last year we sailed on the Constellation and did not look into the Persian Gardens I think this year it will be a must.

[excitedofharpenden]

Heather, thanks for writing a great review. I very much enjoyed reading it and am glad you had such an obviously wonderful time despite worries about your home in West Palm Beach (I was there last May visiting friends). From what you say, I hope that John is Summit's CD on our Hawaii trip next year.:cool:

 

Phil