Summit LIVE Bermuda (7/24-7/31) AQ Class Review

[cinderellen]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

The pool deck is jam packed this morning.  By the time we finished our Blu breakfast and made our way up, the only loungers we could find were one deck up by the solarium roof.

 

I had to go to guest services this morning and they have signs up saying that the ship has sailed at full capacity and no upgrades are available.

 

We’re going to relax and read for a while (btw here’s my book for this cruise, any other Below Deck mega fans following?) then figure out a lunch plan.  Jeremy wants to spend some time in the afternoon in the casino, and while he’s doing that I’m thinking I may make my way to cellar masters for a wine flight and do some window shopping in the vintage handbag boutique.
 

 

 

 

OMG, I love Captain Lee!

[Kteacher]

23 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

YES!!!! Where can I buy this??? I NEED before my November cruise!

Check out Etsy, tons of Below Deck stuff !

[Laurab23]

I love all the Below Deck series.

 

Laura

[boxkite]

GenerationX, thanks for another live cruise report series!

 

I just put in a request with my local library for the Captain Lee book to read on our upcoming Alaska cruise.

 

Keep the Blu reports coming. Has DH tried any of the Blu specialty drinks?

[BunnyLebowski]

Loving this review Charla, thank you for taking the time to write and post. Your photos are fantastic! We’ll be boarding the Summit on August 19 Iceland to Boston, and everything you write just gets me more and more excited for our trip. Enjoy Bermuda! I’ve done the Summit to Bermuda a few times now and it never gets old. Hope you and Jeremy have a fantastic trip! -Georgina 

[packerpegster]

Got Captain Lee’s book!  Thanks for the heads up Charla!  Love Below Deck!

have a fun cruise!  Love ❤️ your reviews!

[bnurick]

Very happy to see you were able to book the Veuve dinner @GenerationX as we loved it on the June cruise to Bermuda.  Master Cellar Enrique lead ours and he did a fantastic job.  Cheers from KY!  🥂

[flifish64]

Loving you review

and pics of you with hubby

My hubby says that the right amount of alcohol helps kill germs and I am wondering if he is right

With all your cruises since Covid and enjoying life so much have you had Covid?

I am beginning to think I need to increase my red wine consumption to help ward off those nasty germs

 

carol

[GenerationX]

All about our first sea day afternoon:

 

After a morning on the crowded pool deck we decided we wanted to do buffet for lunch. We went in and washed our hands and made a scoping lap.  The good news is there were many delicious looking lunch options. The completely depressing news for me is that the buffet was back to self service. 😭

 

Years pre-covid, right after watching a man at the breakfast buffet grab some bacon with his bare hands (because he didn’t want to wait for the person in front of him to finish with the tongs), then put his fingers in his mouth and suck the bacon grease off, then use his slobbery fingers to grab tongs and serve himself sausage links in the next tray, I decided that I would not risk eating any meals at the buffet until late in the cruise so that if my fellow passengers’ disgusting hygiene practices started an illness outbreak, I wouldn’t get sick till I was already home.

 

My post-Covid cruises where kitchen staff have been serving gave me such a nice opportunity to enjoy the buffet more without hygiene anxiety.  Once again, it was nice while it lasted.

 

Seeing the buffet service situation, we doubled back to the mast grill instead to get a burger and a hot dog.  People were so desperate for pool deck seating they had “reserved” the mast grill dining tables for pool lounging (as in several dining tables had no food in sight but were tipped with pool tote bags and had towels towel clipped to the chairs).  So we took our lunch back down to eat on our veranda.

 

After lunch I took a short nap while Jeremy went to the casino and won $250 on a penny slot machine. 

 

When I woke up, we went for afternoon coffee and tea at Al Bacio while listening to live acoustic guitar.  Then we headed to Cellar Masters where sommelier Genesis gave me a fantastic $25 Italian wine flight experience. I especially liked the Italian Chardonnay which was nice and crisp and not at all oaky.

 

Once I was the 3 glasses of wine in, I had enough liquid courage to take $50 and see if I could top Jeremy’s luck in the casino.  My cash was gone in an hour and a half.  

 

Surprisingly, the casino was the LEAST crowded place I’ve been on the whole ship so far.  There were maybe 20 passengers total there playing in the afternoon and, unlike everywhere else I’ve been on the ship so far, it was actually very easy to social distance.

 

Time to start dressing for our first evening chic night!  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ecslady]

Another Below Deck fan here.  Thanks for posting that pic.  I didn't know Captain Lee has a book out.  Enjoy your cruise!

[GenerationX]

49 minutes ago, flifish64 said:

Loving you review

and pics of you with hubby

My hubby says that the right amount of alcohol helps kill germs and I am wondering if he is right

With all your cruises since Covid and enjoying life so much have you had Covid?

I am beginning to think I need to increase my red wine consumption to help ward off those nasty germs

 

carol

Thank you!  I’m looking for some wood to knock as I type this, but in my post-pandemic cruises I have been lucky enough not to have caught COVID onboard.

 

I did, however, catch what we’re pretty sure was the omicron variant in mid-May. But we are also pretty sure that my daughter brought it home from school.  An email went out saying that her class had an outbreak and when we had her tested she was positive (fortunately with just a runny nose for symptoms).  About a week later, after testing negative a couple of times, I felt a bad stuffy nose and cough coming on and tested again and was positive.  We were lucky that the quarantine period at home was harder for us than our symptoms!

[Jim_Iain]

A place we enjoy for a light lunch that is safe from dirty fingers is the AquaSpa Cafe.   They have a really good Caprice Salad,   dollops of Salmon, Tuna or Chicken Salad and they make featured sandwich per order.    Unknown to many they also have Greek Yogurt usually not out on display.  

[rvlandandsea]

Oooh!  Thanks for the yogurt tip. I love the Aqua spa cafe and their smoothies and power drinks. 
 

[jandj1224]

Excited to be following along as I'll be boarding next week.  

 

How much is the dinner in the specialty restaurant if you do it the first night? 

[Kteacher]

Completely agree with your view of the pool deck today. We saw chairs with banners that said “reserved” on them -seriously? We went up top to the retreat sun deck where it was ridiculously windy and hot. I kept thinking to myself that I wished there was a spot on the ship with a guaranteed chair in the shade that’s close to a restroom and beverages - wait, that’s my cabin. We spent the better part of the day relaxing on our balcony and ordered room service for an afternoon snack 👍

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Really enjoying your review. We did the Equinox in May and Summit in July. You really make the best use of your time! And you have good suggestions too. Looking forward to more pics.

[GenerationX]

Good morning from and officially 40 year old Generation X!

 

When I woke up this morning I could see that the wind, white caps and swells that had the Summit rolling all day yesterday have calmed to a flat ocean. Almost like Neptune himself doesn’t want anything to rock my boat on my birthday today.  Then when I stepped out onto the veranda to do my yoga, I was greeted with a beautiful b-day rainbow!

 

I always start each morning of my cruises taking a moment on the veranda to reflect on just how fortunate I am to have the means and opportunity to cruise and see the world beyond the shores of my home country.  Today I’m also so grateful to have officially been blessed with another full year of life, health, loving family and wonderful friends.

 

Speaking of wonderful friends, after dinner in Blu last night (full report to come) I had the tremendous pleasure of spending the final countdown to midnight and the official start of my big day drinking martinis and tearing up the sky lounge dance floor with FlorenceItaly and her husband!  This lady is even more fabulous in person than she is on CC and Jeremy and I are very much looking forward to hanging out with them more the rest of the cruise.

 

Well, I’m going to go toss some cold water on my husbands’s face to get him up, then start my birthday at sea.  On the agenda:

 

-Breakfast in Blu

-Morning in the Spa

-Lunch at Sushi on 5

-Food & Wine Pairing Workshop

-Dinner in Blu

-Martini Flights 

-A Great Big GenX Birthday Party in the Sky Lounge till the DJ Shuts Me Down!

 

Have a great day everyone! I know I will!

 

 

 

 

 

[Altamar]

Happy birthday, and many more 🎂💐🥂🎉

[cinderellen]

Happy birthday! Enjoy your day 🧁🚢🥂🍷

[Ipeeinthepools]

Happy Birthday 🎉  Have a Great Day

[Mrs_Tiki]

Happy Birthday, Charla!

[mcclarke1]

Happy Happy Birthday!!  Hope you have the best day!!🎉

[Corgidawgga]

Happy birthday, Charla.  
 

You will love your 40s.   Some of the best years.    I am following along and enjoying your blog.   And, I have a Xmas idea for my DD as she loves Below Deck.  
 

Thanks!

[bama4cruisin]

Have a very Happy Birthday!

[IWillGoAnywhere26]

Happy Birthday, Charla! Have a blast!