Trip Report from 7/16/17 Summit Cruise to Bermuda

[fvalanzola@gmail.com]

Great review!

 

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[Bright1]

Both depends what you want but most is self serve.

Thanks for your response.

Irene

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[montgomeryfamily]

Was your Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle at 9:30am or at another time?

[crlib]

Thanks so much for your detailed review! Very much appreciated as I am leaving this Sunday for my first ever cruise, Summit to Bermuda!

 

Quick question, do you need cash, exact change for the buses, beach shuttles from the dock? Trying to figure out how much cash we need to bring.

[CathyCU03]

Was your Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle at 9:30am or at another time?

 

It was either 9 or 9:30. Pretty early and they only put the invitation on our door that morning. I only noticed it when we got our breakfast delivery.

[CathyCU03]

Thanks so much for your detailed review! Very much appreciated as I am leaving this Sunday for my first ever cruise, Summit to Bermuda!

 

Quick question, do you need cash, exact change for the buses, beach shuttles from the dock? Trying to figure out how much cash we need to bring.

 

We had cash for taxis and the beach shuttles. It looked like the taxis would take credit cards but I'm not sure the shuttles would. I had heard that some people had issues with exact change for the buses and ferries so I went to the information center that was right where the boat was docked. I figured out how many tokens we needed and bought them there in advance. Then I could use my credit card. I did notice that the hours were a little limited so if you want to do that I recommend stopping by in the morning. I saw a sign that the buses require exact change and by change they mean coins - not bills. I'm not sure if that is really the case or not but I didn't want to have to deal with it.

[poffles]

Thanks so much for sharing. Booked Summit for next November ... second time. Love reading about others sailing. I have Concierge booked and I really hope they offer galley and helipad for my trip, I would be over the moon. Awesome pics too.

[bajwkj]

Cathy, thanks so much for posting the daily Summit Today schedules. My family and I are sailing to Bermuda on the Summit at the end of August 2017 and we had been looking for them for some time. Also appreciated your detailed daily blog.. Helpful in knowing what to expect and for planning. One thing we have not been able to find is any info on the Fun Factory. We will be traveling with six children and having some idea what they offer on a daily basis would sure be helpful. If time permits and you have an example of what a day in the fun factory might offer, we would be so grateful if you would post it here. Thanks again for all the info!

[DaniDanielle]

We did the Galley Tour, very Interesting.. it was open to everyone which was nice. We are Elite with Celebrity so had a lot of little extras which we enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

 

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[CTSandy]

Thanks for your great review! Boarding the Summit on Aug. 13 and looking forward to it. Did the same cruise on Summit last year and loved it - wonderful staff.

[CathyCU03]

Cathy, thanks so much for posting the daily Summit Today schedules. My family and I are sailing to Bermuda on the Summit at the end of August 2017 and we had been looking for them for some time. Also appreciated your detailed daily blog.. Helpful in knowing what to expect and for planning. One thing we have not been able to find is any info on the Fun Factory. We will be traveling with six children and having some idea what they offer on a daily basis would sure be helpful. If time permits and you have an example of what a day in the fun factory might offer, we would be so grateful if you would post it here. Thanks again for all the info!

 

I posted all but one of the fun factory schedules here - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2525419&highlight=summit

 

Older kids had different schedules but some of the activities were the same.

[PiratessLooksAt40]

What a great review! It sounds like you had an amazing trip! We loved our trip last August so much we booked another for next year (with our kids & my parents!)

 

I have some questions if you don't mind.

 

Warwick Long Bay : Bathroom or Port o Potty? Was it clean? We did Horseshoe last year, but wanted to try Warwick for a morning & do the walk back to Horseshoe. I can't not have a bathroom. [emoji15]

 

Beach Shuttle: did you pay for your daughter? Do you remember if under a certain age was free? With kids 14, 12 & 9, plus 4 adults a taxi is probably just as much!

 

Fun Factory: did you notice if the age groups are separated into different spaces? This is what I did not like about Disney! I feel the 9-11s needs to be separate from the 3-5s.

 

Harbor Nights: what was the cost for the activities in the kids area? Was it terribly loud during the Gombeys performance?

 

The private sail boat: do you have the contact information? About how much did it cost? My parents would LOVE this. We're planning on doing the snorkel trip with Restless Native, but a private boat sounds wonderful. And out of our price range.

 

Thank again!

 

 

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[CathyCU03]

What a great review! It sounds like you had an amazing trip! We loved our trip last August so much we booked another for next year (with our kids & my parents!)

 

I have some questions if you don't mind.

 

Warwick Long Bay : Bathroom or Port o Potty? Was it clean? We did Horseshoe last year, but wanted to try Warwick for a morning & do the walk back to Horseshoe. I can't not have a bathroom. [emoji15]

 

Beach Shuttle: did you pay for your daughter? Do you remember if under a certain age was free? With kids 14, 12 & 9, plus 4 adults a taxi is probably just as much!

 

Fun Factory: did you notice if the age groups are separated into different spaces? This is what I did not like about Disney! I feel the 9-11s needs to be separate from the 3-5s.

 

Harbor Nights: what was the cost for the activities in the kids area? Was it terribly loud during the Gombeys performance?

 

The private sail boat: do you have the contact information? About how much did it cost? My parents would LOVE this. We're planning on doing the snorkel trip with Restless Native, but a private boat sounds wonderful. And out of our price range.

 

Thank again!

 

 

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The bathrooms were more like latrines. There's a small building but no flushing toilets.

 

We did pay for my DD on the beach shuttles. Not sure if younger kids would be free. When we took a taxi we just paid the meter so that might be a better option for a larger group.

 

There were different rooms in the fun factory and they did split them up by age. I know that the 3-5 and 6-8 were together sometimes. I assume the older ages were also sometimes grouped together. But unless it was a whole kids club activity the older and younger kids are generally separated.

 

At harbor nights we paid $10 for a bracelet for unlimited time on all the bounce houses - think there were 3 or 4. You could also buy a few trips down the slide or 5 min of time for less money. I don't remember the dancers being overly loud.

 

Here is the charter company we used, they have the rates and options on the site. http://www.bermudacharters.com/ We did 4 hours which gave us plenty of time for sailing, swimming/snorkeling and eating lunch. I did a lot of research and they were the best option that met our criteria of private, easy to get on and off the boat, and has a bathroom.

[bajwkj]

Cathy, Thank you for posting the shipmates schedules for the Fun Factory. Unfortunately I am unable to read them. Unlike the Summit Today schedules you posted showing activities on the ship, the Fun Factory schedules get very distorted when you increase the size to read them. Even tried a magnifying glass but that didn't work either. Any chance you might be able to repost even one of them in your actual review, rather than a separate link; like you did with the Summit Today schedules? Thank you so much for all the wonderful info you have posted thus far. It's answered so many questions and is so informative! :)

[CathyCU03]

Cathy, Thank you for posting the shipmates schedules for the Fun Factory. Unfortunately I am unable to read them. Unlike the Summit Today schedules you posted showing activities on the ship, the Fun Factory schedules get very distorted when you increase the size to read them. Even tried a magnifying glass but that didn't work either. Any chance you might be able to repost even one of them in your actual review, rather than a separate link; like you did with the Summit Today schedules? Thank you so much for all the wonderful info you have posted thus far. It's answered so many questions and is so informative! :)

 

 

 

Scroll down in that link. I posted them again when I realized they didn't come out.

 

 

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[bajwkj]

Thank you so much! They are "clear as a bell" and so helpful, Appreciate your putting all of the information and schedules out there for those of us yet to sail!

[Rando_NJ]

Thanks immensely for the story. We embark Sunday on the same cruise. Your experience will help us with many choices -- meals, activities, kids stuff, etc. I registered on this website solely for the purpose of thanking you. Otherwise I go to significant lengths to protect my digital privacy.

 

Thanks again. Well done!

[CathyCU03]

Thanks immensely for the story. We embark Sunday on the same cruise. Your experience will help us with many choices -- meals, activities, kids stuff, etc. I registered on this website solely for the purpose of thanking you. Otherwise I go to significant lengths to protect my digital privacy.

 

Thanks again. Well done!

 

Have a good trip!

[momoftwo11]

Thank you so much. My family and I are also sailing tomorrow. We have been on the summit a couple of years ago but really appreciated the information. Thanks!

 

 

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[TeeRick]

Awesome review! We head out on Summit in 6 weeks.

[cruisin0504]

Thank you! I know nothing about the Summit - and I love the pre-cruise research! This looks great - I will enjoy reading it tonight (gotta work to be able to cruise ;p)

[Bluebird flys]

Day 5 - Bermuda - Part 1

 

Today's plan was to visit a beach in the morning. Originally we had planned to do Horseshoe Bay. But we heard from other cruisers that is was horribly crowded and all the chairs and umbrellas sold out early. Since my parents decided to take a rest day we decided to be more adventurous and go straight to Warwick Long Bay. We took a shuttle that was $9 per person. The beach was stunning and very quiet. There are no chairs or food but there was a bathroom. We had an amazing morning. There was a little seaweed and we saw a few Portuguese man-of-wars on the sand. We had bought a small collection of sand toys the night before in Hamilton which came in handy. The surf was a little rough so I wouldn't recommend this beach for toddlers by my dare devil loved it. I also did a little snorkeling but it was hard in the waves. We left around 12:30 to head back to the Summit for lunch at the buffet. There was a shuttle waiting to take us back which was quick and easy. They tried to find some more passengers at Horseshoe Bay but no takers so we have the shuttle to ourselves. I finally made it to the pasta station for lunch which was a little disappointing. The sauce just tasted like spaghettio's sauce. As usual the ice cream did not disappoint!

Where did you get the shuttle? I knew the bus goes to horseshoe bay but there is a walk from the bus stop to the beach, would be happier with the shuttle.

[CathyCU03]

Where did you get the shuttle? I knew the bus goes to horseshoe bay but there is a walk from the bus stop to the beach, would be happier with the shuttle.

 

They line up right in front of the cruise ships. There were always transportation guides out helping people find a shuttle for where they were going. Very friendly.

[KimboJam]

Thank you so much for your fantastic review. We sail the Summit in June 2018 to Bermuda so it was great to get an overview of what is offered.