Review of Summit Panama Canal

[sexyaznboy]

Just came back on the Summit and thought I'd post a brief review. Overall I had an awesome time, I was only on one other 7 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on Carnival 3 years ago, and this one had a totally different atmosphere. Older crowd, some nice people and in fact the nasty people that we encountered were the few kids that hung out together and developed quite a reputation for raising havoc. So I didn't mind the older crowd!

 

I'll make short notes about each phase of my trip, I went with my mom, who also had a great time!

 

LAX: smooth transition to the Pier, took Prime Time shuttles which I booked in advance on line and had a quick time, $32 for the both of us (not sure if it would have been cheaper by cab, but it was quite a distance)

 

Embarkation: relatively smooth, they gave us numbers and called us to go on board. A bit of a hoard mentality, could have been better, could have been worse, but we were so excited about going on board, we didn't mind!

 

Room: we had an inside room. This was a major point of concern for us, we cannot affort to do the concierge class suites or even a window was a 30% premium for us based on air and cruise cost, so we decided to do inside. We were not disappointed! The room was spacious for 170 feet, we did not feel at all claustrophobic. Turns out we did not use it that much other than for sleep and changing, so it was a great decision, saves us money for our next trip! YAY!

 

Stateroom Attendants: Friendly, not overly so, no real special perks, they did put candy on our bed, no towel animals on our beds so a bit disappointed! We paid the standard tip no extra, although they were friendly I heard some other attendants were amazing.

 

Fitness/Spa: One of the highlights, the gym was a good size, I needed badly to work out because of the food (see below), I gained 5 pounds in the first week, but they had a good number of machines there to do cardio and weights. The thallasotherapy pool was awesome, try to do it either first thing in the morning (7am) or last thing at night (10pm) when there are few people. Around midday, the pool is way too crowded. The pool actually makes your skin feel awesome, especially after being out in the sun all the time. The running track on the deck was a bit of a problem. Too close to the deck chairs and not wide enough. Could not get much of a jog in because people were walking slowly and to their deck chairs. Snuck into the Persian Gardens wet sauna :p it is very nice! The showers in the gym area are nicer than the ones in the room! My mom had a facial, BEWARE aggressive sell tactics though, those ladies are on commission. I didn't appreciate how they tried to pull a fast one on us...and would be wary about arranging for their services again.

 

Food: What can I say, overall good to excellent food! Both buffets and sit downs at all three meals, except no sit down in the Cosmopolitan during port days. The fruit was always fresh. The quality of the lunch was the most variable however, and sometimes it didn't seem overly fresh. The buffets were similar. I think in retrospect we should have done more of the sit down thing in the morning instead of the buffet. Dinner was always the highlight. 5 course meals every night, we had the early sitting, the problem is that 6 pm was too early but 8:30 pm was way too late. There is a casual dining option and we did not try this. Their shrimp cocktail, lamb, and prime rib were highlights. Dessert was always great, highlights were mango cheescake, and anything chocolate! You can have sirloin every night if you don't like the rest of the dishes. We had it a few times, once it was too tough but other times it was good. The food quality I'd give 8/10. After the first week, it got slightly repetitive. I am a naive smalltown boy, but many of the names of the appetizers and soups needed explanation! Grand buffet at 12 midnight was nice to look at, but many people were taking pictures and coughing, so beware! The food is not covered! I heard through some people about 10 cabins were quarantined due to flu like illness at the end of our cruise.

 

Food service: We loved our waiters Cyrel and Kerby. Always friendly, attentive, remembered exactly what we wanted to drink. We tipped them more on top of the standard.

 

Casino: Big ripoff, the slots did not payoff even a little. We know we are going to lose money...but the output of the machines really sucked...we went to Aruba casino and had a blast playing the slots, at least they'd have a bonus game and some output once in a while to make you happy. The casinos overall were not that busy...they need to rethink their strategy. Perhaps they can offer free drinks like they did in Aruba.

 

People: Very friendly indeed! It always amazed me how happy people are on cruises and are willing to say hi if they recognize you (so different than real life!). As above, the only problem we had was when my mom went to have a tea late at night, a bunch of 7 or 8 kids were being loud and goofing around, blocking my mom's way and I personally heard a racial slur being mumbled (I thought)...I was going to complain, but I think an attendant noticed and talked to them...later on, these same kids were splashing customers at a party by the pool on purpose. That kind of rudeness I can't stand!

 

Ports: Only did one tour, so cannot comment too much!

1) Cabo San Lucas, nice port, little stores

2) Acapulco, it was 97 degrees outside, we were both tired that day and did not wander out, but the beaches looked awesome and I heard the cliff divers were amazing

3) Huatulco, small town, really not much there

4) Punterenas Costa Rica - highlight of our cruise other than Panama Canal, we took a tour by Charlie Soto, he took us to feed the white faced monkeys, I went zip lining in the forest! mom went crocodile boat touring, went for an awesome lunch by the beach (where he bought us a beer) and bought us fresh fruit to eat by the beach. Definitely worth the 80 dollars. The only thing is we couldn't get the coffee because the shop was closed.

4) Cristobal Pier, in my opinion, a waste of time, only stopped at an indoor flea market...would have rather stopped at a more interesting town

5) Aruba, awesome shopping village, some new friends went snorkeling and thought it was amazing.

 

Panama Canal: Amazing journey. Wake up at 5!!! Best view on the helipad, but be prepared to get up early. We were lucky we had a downpour where half the people took off (and the downpour stopped). The trees around Gatun Lake are beautiful. Nice commentary over the speaker system.

 

Entertainment on Board: The shows were very professionally done. Did not see the comedian. Didn't think I would enjoy them as much as I did. Even enjoyed the xylophone player and the cheesy lounge singer act :cool:

There was this Russian gymnast couple that did the most amazing acrobatic tricks. They should have had their own show.

 

However, the bar and club scene was the WORST. I don't know if it is a function of the general age, but many of the lounges and bars were DEAD after 10pm with only 10 people at most. Even couples who were dancing looked like they were falling asleep. The busiest night was when they did a Dancing with the Stars event. They need to reconfigure their events in the evening. They are losing big bucks on drinks, people would rather go to bed then go out drinking or dancing it seemed. I am in my late 30s and met a few people to hang with, but if you go on this cruise hoping for a nightlife, sorry there is none.

 

Disembarkation: We chose the early walkoff, which was disorganized, had to wait in the public lounges and a big line up to walk off. We were lucky because our experience in Fort Lauderdale wasn't great. I actually heard some luggage got stolen.

 

Fort Lauderdale: Terrible old, crowded airport. They had a heightened security alert and lineups around the corner everywhere. They were slow to get people through security. One of the worst airports I've ever been at. Flight home was ok, although my TSA approved lock was taken off and not replaced.

 

All in all, I loved the cruise though. Would like to see how doing a cruise by myself would go...

[Lois R]

Hi, glad you and your Mom enjoyed the cruise:)

 

 

You are used to the Toronto Airport so I guess FLL might

seem small...but as for the worst? I actually love it.

I fly SW and the terminal is very accessable, Sportsbar

is right in the center and it is very easy for my arrivals

and departures. Terrible and old? It is so easy to

get around there (for me anyway).

Different strokes for different folks;)

 

As for sailing on your own, I sail solo all the time.

If you have any questions I will be glad to try

and answer them.

 

You mentioned towel animals in your stateroom...or lack

of them. Celebrity doesn't normally do that....I have never

missed them.

 

Sounds like you overall had a good time:)

 

Thanks for the review.

[sexyaznboy]

Hey Lois!

I didn't mean to be nasty about the FLL airport, just my perspective was skewed by the huge lineups and security being so slow with the heightened security. Yes I find Toronto much bigger and more spacious, but we also get taxed a lot too! I just found the environment very frantic. But yes I had a wonderful time. Will definitely want to learn more about cruising solo. I guess the only thing that has held me back so far is the single supplements, anywhere from 30 to 100% right? Need to find some cheaper rates, but not so last minute that the flights would be too expensive!

[Lois R]

Hi:) ...well, with Celebrity you are going to pay double.

Yes, double.

30%? I don't know any cruiselines that charge 30% for the

single supplment. Some charge 110%---150% depending

on the cruiseline....HAL, Princess and Carnival charge

less than X but I love Celebrity so I pay the price.

 

Well, most airports have lots of security these days....

But I fly in and out of FLL quite often so I guess I am just

used to it.;)

[tompeter]

Thanks for the great review, glad you enjoyed yourselves.

Yes, the FTL airport does tend to get overwhelmed with lines of people due to the growth over the years of the cruise ship business. It reminds me of the lines for US customs at YYZ when flying early morning...LOL.

 

Unfortunately, night life is limited on longer than 7 day cruises due to the more mature crowd on board.

 

Good luck with your next cruise.

 

Lois, you are right that sports bar is perfect place to hang out in FLL when waiting for SWA!

 

 

Tom

[Lois R]

Hi:) the last time I was in FLL back in December the NFL playoffs

were on....I was able to sit at the bar and watch part of the games

while waiting on my flight home.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday after a fantastic cruise

on Millennium:D ;)

The only thing better would be ....oh...how about being back on the ship?:)

[excitedofharpenden]

Sounds like you had a great cruise and I know you were concerned with your cabin choice before you left, so glad it worked out for you.

 

The Panama Canal cruises of longer duration do tend to attract an older crowd on the whole and that probably explains the quiet ship later on. The Caribbean cruises I have done were much more lively. You only need a hard core of party animals to change the whole effect;)

 

BTW, give me FLL airport over Miami any day of the week!

 

Phil