Celebrity Summit Oct27

[sailingsusie]

We sailed the Summit Oct27-Nov3/18 out of San Juan , our first Celebrity cruise. Any questions? 

[Bo1953]

How did you enjoy your sailing and how does it compare to the ships/lines you usually sail?

 

Welcome back and bon voyage

[sailingsusie]

41 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

How did you enjoy your sailing and how does it compare to the ships/lines you usually sail?

 

Welcome back and bon voyage

We enjoyed it. It was a port heavy cruise so it was a bit too much, I like sea days and there was only one, but the price was good so we took advantage.  Most of everything was great, sometimes service in the dining room and the bar in casino was slow, but there was only one female bartender in the casino she seemed overwhelmed at times, in fact one day we noticed a charge of $54.97 on our bill from that bar, we knew it could not be correct as we had a drink package. We went to guest services after a day of review they fixed the error. The buffet was the best ever, by FAR,,,so good and so much choice! Getting on board took 15min, and getting off was a breeze. One extra thing I did not like,,,the pushing of the restaurants..everyday outside the buffet you were asked and they even called our room a few times,,,annoying! 

Edited November 7, 2018 by sailingsusie

[MichLeBlanc]

We will be doing our first cruise on the Summit in April; also out of San Juan and also have a busy port schedule (St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados).  Since this is our first cruise, we are really looking forward to seeing the various ports. What your favorite port stop was? What deck / room did you stay in?

[sailingsusie]

3 minutes ago, MichLeBlanc said:

We will be doing our first cruise on the Summit in April; also out of San Juan and also have a busy port schedule (St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados).  Since this is our first cruise, we are really looking forward to seeing the various ports. What your favorite port stop was? What deck / room did you stay in?

Well,,we didn't go there this time but..St Thomas is one of my fave ports, the tram is great,,what a view from the top,,,and magic ice is a lot of fun, you will enjoy it there!!. Our cabin was 7095 midship balcony, the room stewart was fantastic!! We had the classic drink package and never found we had to pay extra for anything we wanted to drink. My husband loves Long island ice tea, we had thought we would have to pay the difference but they were all covered,,same with daiquiris. The ship is beautiful, but is showing age in some places. We had a "credit" on our account of $4.00 that we left for a donation.  One of our excursions that we had booked with Celebrity was cancelled, so we just walked off and did a taxi tour with a local.

[davekathy]

Thanks for posting. In St. Thomas did you dock at Haven Sight or Crown Bay?  We like sailing out of San Juan due to the cruises are port intensive. One sea day is plenty for us. We did a B2B Caribbean cruise on the Summit March/April 2014 out of San Juan. Looking forward to our future cruises on the Summit. By then she will have had her facelift. 

[Maya_C]

Thank you for the information about the Summit. I'll be on my first Caribbean cruise ever on the Summit from San Juan in January.  I'm glad to hear that the food is good and that getting on and off is easy. I've heard that passengers who take Caribbean cruises from Florida ports tend to be older because the cruise lines offer last-minute great deals to Florida residents, many of whom are retirees. Being retirement age myself, I'm not prejudiced against seniors, but I'm curious if those who board the ship in San Juan might be younger on average. What was the mix of passenger ages and nationalities on your cruise?

[wrk2cruise]

Royal  has a multi year contract to use Crown Bay in St Thomas.  I'd be surprised if any Royal/Celebrity ships dock elsewhere in the next few years.

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

Royal  has a multi year contract to use Crown Bay in St Thomas.  I'd be surprised if any Royal/Celebrity ships dock elsewhere in the next few years.

Bummer. We were hoping things changed from last year. We don't like Crown Bay. We prefer walking through Haven Sight and then walking into Charlotte Amalie. Oh well at least we are having fun in the sun. 

Edited November 8, 2018 by davekathy

[sailingsusie]

19 hours ago, davekathy said:

Thanks for posting. In St. Thomas did you dock at Haven Sight or Crown Bay?  We like sailing out of San Juan due to the cruises are port intensive. One sea day is plenty for us. We did a B2B Caribbean cruise on the Summit March/April 2014 out of San Juan. Looking forward to our future cruises on the Summit. By then she will have had her facelift. 

When I was there the 3 times with Carnival we docked in Havensight, we walked to everything we wanted to do. This also was our 2nd time sailing out of San Juan, but a different pier than last time, this time was Pan American pier.

[davekathy]

Just now, sailingsusie said:

When I was there the 3 times with Carnival we docked in Havensight, we walked to everything we wanted to do. This also was our 2nd time sailing out of San Juan, but a different pier than last time, this time was Pan American pier.

Yea Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have signed a 10 year agreement to use Crown Bay. Bummer! I was hoping they changed. We don't like Crown Bay. They both used to dock at Havensight. We liked to walk through the Heavensight Mall area and then into Charlotte Amalie. Then back to the ship. Walking from Crown Bay into and back from Charlotte Amalie doesn't look appealing. We take the shuttles there. Correct Carnival uses one of the piers in Old San Juan for embarkation. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean use the Pan Am pier.

[sailingsusie]

19 hours ago, Maya_C said:

Thank you for the information about the Summit. I'll be on my first Caribbean cruise ever on the Summit from San Juan in January.  I'm glad to hear that the food is good and that getting on and off is easy. I've heard that passengers who take Caribbean cruises from Florida ports tend to be older because the cruise lines offer last-minute great deals to Florida residents, many of whom are retirees. Being retirement age myself, I'm not prejudiced against seniors, but I'm curious if those who board the ship in San Juan might be younger on average. What was the mix of passenger ages and nationalities on your cruise?

We have sailed on many cruises, Carnival NCL and Princess. The last time was sailed from San Juan it was on Carnival, it was a mix of all ages, young families with small kids to seniors. It was a very lively and fun cruise, lots of latin music and on deck entertainment. This one was quite, no real "latin" music, but a more mix of multi generation music. No real on deck entertainment. Hardly any kids, and the average age was well over 50. I am over 50, but I wish it was a little more lively, but I didn't miss the hairy chest contest 😉

[George C]

Agree on buffet on summit I thought it was great , way better than rccl and other lines.

[sailingsusie]

On ‎11‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 9:31 AM, George C said:

Agree on buffet on summit I thought it was great , way better than rccl and other lines.

great buffet! I am originally from England, and they even had a full English breakfast including Black pudding,,so yummy! My husband hates it as he is Canadian and never had it until he met me. It is hard to find good black pudding in North America. I am sure a lot of people on here hate it also,,haha 🙂

[waterat]

We're leaving on the Summit March 30. The ship leaves San Juan at 8pm. What time can we actually get on board. In the past we've boarded at 11 am for a 5pm sail time. 

[Atwell]

On 11/15/2018 at 11:20 AM, waterat said:

We're leaving on the Summit March 30. The ship leaves San Juan at 8pm. What time can we actually get on board. In the past we've boarded at 11 am for a 5pm sail time. 

 

We have always been able to board in San Juan before noon for an 8 pm sailing.  We never tried as early as 11 am but there were already people boarding when we arrived a little before noon.  We have sailed from San Juan maybe 8 or 10 times but not in the past year, so maybe someone has more recent info.  But I doubt that anything has changed.  Some passengers board early, drop off their luggage, get their Seapass, maybe have lunch and then leave the ship to sightsee around San Juan and still get back in plenty of time.

[BosoxI]

What about the ship itself.  Really tired or in reasonable shape?  Especially Sky Suites and AQ.  Thanks

[sailingsusie]

On ‎12‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 6:51 AM, BosoxI said:

What about the ship itself.  Really tired or in reasonable shape?  Especially Sky Suites and AQ.  Thanks

We found the ship was in pretty good shape. There were a few area that showed wear and tear...example was our balcony, if you looked at the paint railings etc it had been patched and painted over many times. We loved the pool area and most of the common areas.

[clskinsfan]

On 12/4/2018 at 9:51 AM, BosoxI said:

What about the ship itself.  Really tired or in reasonable shape?  Especially Sky Suites and AQ.  Thanks

 

Depending on when you are cruising all of the cabins/suites will be updated in March 2019. They will be torn down to the steel and completely redone.

[yorky]

On 11/7/2018 at 7:20 PM, MichLeBlanc said:

We will be doing our first cruise on the Summit in April; also out of San Juan and also have a busy port schedule (St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados).  Since this is our first cruise, we are really looking forward to seeing the various ports. What your favorite port stop was? What deck / room did you stay in?

We love St Kitts, very friendly people and some great private tours.

[Cajuntraveler]

We are taking our third cruise in April 2019 aboard the Summit.(1st time on Celebrity) Does anyone have info about laundry services?  We just sailed on HAL(Oosterdam) and enjoyed the unlimited laundry service ($49 for 7 days).  Also, I can't find info on Celebrity's web site about how long we should allow between docking at San Juan and our flight home.  I need to book flights and don't know how early I can book my return flight to MSY.  Any info on San Juan hotels and transfers to the port would also be appreciated.

[Atwell]

2 hours ago, Cajuntraveler said:

We are taking our third cruise in April 2019 aboard the Summit.(1st time on Celebrity) Does anyone have info about laundry services?  We just sailed on HAL(Oosterdam) and enjoyed the unlimited laundry service ($49 for 7 days).  Also, I can't find info on Celebrity's web site about how long we should allow between docking at San Juan and our flight home.  I need to book flights and don't know how early I can book my return flight to MSY.  Any info on San Juan hotels and transfers to the port would also be appreciated.

 

Personally, I would not book a flight earlier than 11:00 am from SJU.  However, others have said in the past they have booked earlier flights.  Let Celebrity know you have an earlier flight and they will put you in an earlier group for disembarkation.  A form will be left in your room requesting your flight info a few days before the final arrival in San Juan.

 

Here are some tips on getting to the airport faster.  1) If you can walk off with your luggage it will be faster than sending your luggage out the night before and having to find it in the main hall and then standing in line to clear Customs and Passport Control.  2) If you cannot walk off with your luggage, then use a porter in the main hall.  They have ways of getting you through and bypassing the lines - tip them generously. 3) The taxi line moves pretty fast.  I would not use a Celebrity transfer.  The problem is they put you on a bus, however, your luggage is put onto a truck with the luggage from other busses so you may have to wait at the airport to arrive, then it is a free-for-all.

 

Use a porter at the airport.  They also have ways to bypass the lines.  And if you don't use a porter at the airport, don't forget to go through the Agricultural Inspection x-ray station and get an "inspected" sticker for all checked bags.  The x-ray is just inside the door when you enter from the sidewalk.  If you don't get an "inspected" sticker, the airline will send you back when you try to check in. 

 

As far as transfers from the airport to your hotel, the best (and maybe only) option is taxi.  There are taxi sedans but also lot of taxi vans which charge the same rates as taxi sedans but can carry more passengers and luggage.  The agent at the taxi stand outside baggage claim will match you with a taxi to fit your need.  Use of a porter will get you quicker service if the line is long - tip generously.

 

There is fixed zone rate system around the tourist areas in San Juan so the pricing is transparent.  You can Google for San Juan taxi rates to understand the fare structure.  The fare from SJU to Old San Juan is $19 or to the Condado area is $15 then there are some extra charges for baggage ($1 per bag), $2 for each passenger over 5 persons, etc.  From the Pan American Pier (where the Summit docks) the fare is $19 to SJU airport plus the extras as noted above.  Here is one link explaining taxi fares: https://sanjuanpuertorico.com/taxis/

 

Uber is available in the San Juan area but not Lyft as far as I know.  However, the taxi "union" is very strong in San Juan so you might want to avoid any hassle that the taxis will give to Uber drivers especially around hotels.  Others may have more recent information on using Uber and Lyft in San Juan.

 

So far as I know you cannot purchase unlimited laundry service on Celebrity ships.  They charge per piece.

 

Other experienced cruisers out of San Juan on Celebrity may have other advice.

 

 

[cruisin 07]

Agree with Atwell. We were off a Carnival cruise. The lines for customs where easily over 50 people deep. Used a porter and they had their own line. 3 people in front of us. Right to the taxi stand and on our way. Took about 30 mins from leaving the ship to being at the airport. We waited for last call to leave the ship around 9:30. Very easy to locate our luggage. Only 3 other pieces in our assigned section.

[Cajuntraveler]

Thank you Atwell and Cruisin 07!  The info you provided is much appreciated and will be very helpful in planning our cruise.

[Cajuntraveler]

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 10:39 AM, sailingsusie said:

We sailed the Summit Oct27-Nov3/18 out of San Juan , our first Celebrity cruise. Any questions? 

We are booked on the Summit out of San Juan in April 2019. This will be our first Celebrity cruise and can't find any info on laundry services.  Is pricing by the piece or by the bag? Are the prices reasonable?  Is there a weekly, unlimited, option?  Also, we have not booked our flight yet, but it  looks like a 10:40 AM flight would be our shortest trip home.  Do you think we can safely get to the airport to make a 10:40 flight?  (Supposed to dock at 6AM)  I'm assuming that taxis are available from the cruise port to the airport.  Any info would be appreciated.