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Celebrity Summit Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 42
7 Night Southern Caribbean Holiday (San Juan Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 23, 2017
Ship: Celebrity Summit
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 3095
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
This is our 14th cruise and by far the best yet. We'll be back.Embarkation
Arrived to the port, waited in line as expected. Checked in without any problems and boarded the ship. Met with an offering of complimentary beverages, including champagne. Our usual cruise line dropped that years ago. Would have given 5 stars except we were bombarded throughout the day about the drink package. Our lunch was interrupted 3 times by staff asking what drink package we liked. When I replied none, I was then asked why I don't drink. Obnoxious. We hid in our room until dinner. We were not asked again after dinner or through the balance of the cruise.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Ate breakfast and dinner in the main dining rooms. Food was mostly very good with a few excellent. Lunch was from the pizza station or poolside grill. Both very good. We had 2 dinners at the specialty restaurants which were good to very good but at the upside prices, we expected excellent. We'll stick to the main dining room in the future. Wine and cocktails are overpriced for what's given.
Le Petit Chef
We felt we paid for an experience rather than a meal. Food is presented in a fun playful manner and of the 8 different small dishes we chose from, only 2 stood out as being very good.
Onboard Activities
We primarily used the pool and spa areas, a couple visits to the casinos. The pool and spa areas are both open to all guests which is a nice change from our usual cruise line that requires a special paid pass for the spa area. Woman's spa changing area has a sauna with a large open window looking outside; was lovely to enjoy. Pool butlers kept the areas clean and often freed up lounge chairs from wet towels dumped there by other guests. There was one sea day and it was difficult to find two loungers in the shade at lunchtime but in port days there was plenty to choose from. Casino was typical but a nice bar area with daily 2 for 1 drink specials.
Entertainment
A couple of live music acts were very good. We especially liked the "Lucky Band" because of their rock and jazz standards. Saw the opening stage show and a comedian. Both were good.
Service and Staff
Service and Staff were the best we've encountered. Even with the annoying hard sell on the beverage package on embarkation day and a rude casino worker who kept insulting my husband at one of the games table, I still give them 5 stars. From the cleaning crew we'd encounter in the hallways early in the morning to the late night wait staff, everyone greeted us with genuine smiles. Most surprising was to have Captain Kate shake our hands and thank us for cruising with her as we left the ship on the last day. We often saw her walking around, greeting staff and guests alike, briefly observing the art auction and giving a twice daily message. Her passion for her work appears to trickle down to all the crew and it was a palpable good vibe all around.
Ship Quality
Although the Summit is an older ship lacking a lot of the frills the new ships have, she was clean and well-maintained. There are signs of age; our shower broke the second to last day but was quickly repaired within hours.
Cabin / Stateroom
Cabin was clean upon arrival with a few dusty exceptions. We had a large window so lots of natural light reflected off the wall of mirrors. The mattress was very firm and we were cursing it by cruise end, but that's a personal preference.
Ship tip
Gateway to land is on the 1st deck. Since we stayed on 3, we often took the stairs to many events happening on decks 3, 4 and 5. Had a typical elevator wait to get topside.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
We stayed 3 days prior to the cruise at a wonderful boutique hotel in Old San Juan. Post Maria, the area is open but very quiet. We found shop keepers were eager for business, but very friendly and openly talked about their experiences. The PR people are passionate and hopeful towards recovery.
We've visited this port several times during previous cruises. Post Maria, damage is visible but like PR, people are friendly and hopeful towards recovery. Hubby and I purchased jewelry and local rum here.
This was our first visit to this port and we didn't plan an excursion. That was a mistake. From the moment we left the ship, it was a hard sell by the local tour operators, several of them who followed us as we walked to the local craft market. We purchased local made hot sauce and hurried back to the ship, stopping for a quick rum punch and free-wifi at a local dive bar. If we visit this port again, we will book an excursion to see the island beyond the dumpy downtown.
This was our first visit to this port and we after the St. Lucia experience, booked a beach escape excursion. Transportation was well organized in an air conditioned bus that was comfortable. The beach was beautiful soft white sand with waves that could sometimes be rough. Skip bringing your snorkel mask unless you book an excursion at the beach site ($10-$20 with a group that went further off shore). Two lounge chairs flanked a shared umbrella, full bar and grill with local fare and burgers available, a couple of locals selling stuff, fully functioning and clean bathrooms. A relaxing sunny afternoon.
This was our first visit to this port and we didn't plan an excursion. We walked around down town, a vibrant mix of tourists and locals. Lots of local shops, restaurants and bar options. Clean and friendly port.
This was our first visit to this port and we booked the St. Kitts by Railway tour. This was excellent; we saw multiple parts of the island, both the pretty and real-world (scrap metal dump and industrial area). Narrator was informative, complimentary unlimited drinks, singing group and locals waving as we went by. The port area has lots of typical cruise port shops and some local ones, restaurant and bars. Lots of local tour operators but not as hard sell as other ports.
Disembarkation
Smoothest ever. We received our luggage tags directly to our cabin (no need to run to guest services to get them) and had a disembarkation time of 8:20am. At breakfast, 8:15 am, our number was called and we went to the gang way, shook Captain Kate's hand, was thanked for sailing with her, and walked off. Our luggage was where it was supposed to be, waited in a line for customs, dropped our luggage off for delivery to the airport, and was on the bus to the airport by 8:45.